


Same Team

by soranfan



Category: USWNT - Fandom, Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 15:07:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 34,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20194249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soranfan/pseuds/soranfan
Summary: Emily Sonnett and Lindsey Horan are both added to the 2016 Portland Thorns roster. What starts out as teammates quickly turns to best friends. Both find themselves catching more feelings for each other, but will their hearts ever align?





	1. New Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> I previously posted this story on Wattpad, but decided I want it to live on this site too! Hope you all enjoy :)

*Emily’s POV*

I can’t believe the day has finally come. Today is the day I get drafted to play professional soccer. I’ve been dreaming of this day ever since I played on my first team back when I was five. 

I wonder how high I’ll get picked. Last year Morgan Brian was the first pick. Moe is so good, I could never imagine getting drafted as high as her. I just hope a team finds me good enough to pick at all.

“Emily, come downstairs. Family is starting to arrive.” I hear my mom call. I really hope my family and I get to hear my name called, they all came for this special moment.

I walk downstairs and am bombarded with hugs. All my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even family friends have showed up. Then the best surprise of them all, my twin sister, Emma, came home and surprised me. With both of us going to college in two different states we barely get to see each other. I’m really happy to see her.

We all settle scattered around our living room watching the live broadcast of the 2016 NWSL draft. Soon my phone starts to ring with an unfamiliar number. I step into the kitchen to take the call. 

“Hello, is this Emily Sonnett? This is Mark Parsons, head coach of the Portland Thorns.” The unfamiliar voice on the other end of the call says.

“Hi. Yes this is Emily. It’s nice to hear from you, Coach.” I reply.

“Well Emily, I’ll keep it short and sweet. I’d like to be the first to welcome you to the Portland Thorns. The whole organization agrees you’ll be the perfect fit for our team this season. We can’t wait to have you out here. You’ll hear more in the coming days, just wanted to call and be the first to congratulate you. Now, go enjoy this moment with your family.”

I couldn’t believe what my ears were hearing. “Th-Thank you so much for this opportunity. I-I won’t let you down.” I utter out.

“I know you won’t, Emily. We’ll talk soon. Have a good evening.”

I hang up the phone and begin to walk back into the living room. As soon as I do, I hear words that will forever echo through my head. “With the first pick in the 2016 NWSL draft, the Portland Thorns select Emily Sonnett, a defender from the University of Virginia.”

Next thing I know I am wrapped in the arms of my mom, dad and Emma. Emma and I look at each other in the eyes. “You did it, Em.” She says with tears welling up in her eyes. 

*Lindsey’s POV*

It’s so nice to be back in the States. My time with PSG in France was so important to my development as a player and a person, but I know that if I ever want a chance with the national team I know I need to be here. 

As of now I’m headed to Orlando to play with the Pride, but who knows what can happen on draft day. Later tonight a bunch of my hometown friends are coming over to watch the draft with me and see if I’m staying with Orlando. 

I decide to go for a run to clear my head before my friends come over. Being honest, I’m really nervous for tonight. It’s an honor to have been picked up by Orlando, but I’ve spent the past four years far away from home. I’d love to be able to play closer to home. I know it was the right choice for me, but I feel like I missed so much while being in France. 

Once I get home from my run I go take a quick shower. As I am drying my hair I hear the doorbell ring. I run downstairs and open the door to see all of my high school friends standing there. We all embrace each other as we haven’t seen each other in nearly four years.

We all gather around the TV in my living room. While we’re waiting for the first pick all of my friends and I catch up. Hearing all of their crazy college stories makes me kind of sad I missed out on all of it, but I knew it was for the best.

Next, I look to the TV and see the commissioner coming out to announce the first pick. “With the first pick in the 2016 NWSL draft, the Portland Thorns select Emily Sonnett, a defender from the University of Virginia.” 

“You ever hear of her?” My friends ask.

“Only a little. It was hard to follow a lot while over in France. But she must be pretty good considering she’s the first pick.” I reply.

A little while later I feel my phone to start buzz. All of my friends stop and stare at me as I answer. “Hello?”

“Hi, is this Lindsey Horan? This is Mark Parsons, head coach of the Portland Thorns.”

“Yes, hi Coach. It’s nice to hear from you.”

“Lindsey I just wanted to call and welcome you to the Portland family. We see you as an integral part of this team. We’ve traded Alex Morgan to Orlando for you. We can’t wait to see you up here in Oregon.”

“Wow thank you so much. I can’t wait to get there and get to work.”

“Have a good night Lindsey.”

When I hang up the phone all of my friends anxiously await the news. “I’m gonna be a Portland Thorn.” I say to them.

All of them let out “Woo’s” and “Yay’s” to celebrate the trade. 

I feel so relieved. I was worried I wouldn’t get to play near family again. I know that Portland and Colorado aren’t that close, but it’s better than being across the country.


	2. Welcome To Portland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily arrives in Portland and meets some new teammates.

*Emily’s POV*

I plop down on my couch after a very long day of moving all of my stuff into my new apartment. I still can’t believe I was picked 1st overall by Portland. I start to feel tired from moving all day and as I start to close my eyes I hear my phone buzz. It was a text from Coach.

Coach Parsons: “Good evening Emily. I hope you are enjoying Portland so far. Just wanted to let you know we have a mandatory team meeting tomorrow morning at 11AM to meet all of your new teammates. See you tomorrow.”

Me: “Thanks Coach, I look forward to meeting everyone.”

I’m so nervous to meet my new team. I’m the new kid coming into a group of professionals. What if they don’t like me?

I better get to sleep so I’m rested for tomorrow. I take a quick shower, throw on an oversized UVA shirt, brush my teeth and hop into bed. I turn on an episode of Friends but am asleep before the claps in the theme song.

*ring* *ring* *ring*

My eyes shoot open. I grab my phone and shut my alarm off. I notice I had a text from Emma.

Emma: “Happy first day of work!! I’m so proud of you Emily. You’re going to do great. Go Thorns!🌹”

I couldn’t help but smile. Emma and I have always been each other’s biggest fans. I wish she could be here and share in this with me.

After scrolling through Twitter and Instagram I hop out of bed and head to the kitchen. I open the fridge and notice it’s completely empty. Since I had spent the whole day unpacking I didn’t have time to go grocery shopping. Looks like I have to go grab breakfast somewhere. I head to my bedroom, throw my hair in a bun, and put on some black yoga pants, a white Adidas shirt and my new favorite sneakers. 

I decide to grab food at a place near Providence Park so I’m not late for the meeting. I walk inside and walk up to the counter to order. 

“Hi, can I have an iced coffee and an avocado toast please?”

I pay the cashier and she hands me a sign with my order number on it. 16. “Huh” I scoff to myself. That’s my favorite number.

I sit down at a table and start scrolling through my phone while waiting for my food. Next thing I know I hear someone say my name.

“Emily?”

I look up and see two girls standing in front of me. I recognize the one immediately. “You’re Tobin Heath.” I spit out. 

“Haha. Yes, that’s me.” Tobin smirks

I didn’t recognize the other girl. She wore a blonde pony tail with a piece of pre-wrap in her hair. I give her a look and go to say hi, but something in me stops and I choke on the word.

Tobin follows, “And this is Lindsey, Lindsey Horan. You’re the two newbies for the Thorns this year.”

Lindsey smiles at me and says, “Hey Emily it’s nice to meet you. You were the #1 pick, right? It’s nice to be in good company here.”

I smirk. “Hey where did you go to college? I’m sorry, but I don’t remember hearing your name before.

“Oh don’t worry about it. I opted out of college and played professionally over in France for PSG the last few years. That’s where Tobin and I first met.” Lindsey informs me.

Before I could answer the waitress brings me my avocado toast.

“That avocado toast looks amazing! I have to get some!” Lindsey exclaims as she runs away. 

“Hey do you mind if Lindsey and I join you for breakfast?” Tobin asks me.

“No, please do.” I respond to Tobin. As she walks away I can’t believe what just happened. I met and talked to Tobin Heath. She’s like the maestro of soccer. Let’s see how long and it takes for her to nutmeg me. And that Lindsey girl, there’s something…special about her. I need to figure out what it is.


	3. Digging Deeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Lindsey learn more about each other's pasts.

*Lindsey’s POV*

I wake up this morning more excited than normal. I really can’t wait to hangout with Sonnett tonight. I like spending time with her, she always makes me laugh. I better get dressed, I’m meeting Tobin for breakfast.

As I walk into the cafe I see Tobin sitting at a table by herself. I walk over to her and steal the beanie off of her head.

“Hey!” Tobin exclaims.

“Good morning, Tobes.” I say handing her her beanie back.

“What’s up with you this morning, Linds? You seem more energized than normal.”

“I’m just excited. I’m hanging out with Emily tonight.”

“You two are getting pretty close. It’s good to see the newbies hanging out so much.”

“Yeah rooming with her at our team bonding weekend really brought us closer. She’s a really great friend.”

“Friend?” Tobin asks raising her eyebrow.

“Tobin it’s not like that. I have Russell anyway.” I remind her.

“Ah yes, Russell. Does Emily know about him?”

“No. We haven’t talked much about our pasts.”

“Got it. Anyway I’m starving and don’t wanna die at practice so let’s grab some food.”

Why did Tobin question my friendship with Sonnett? She knows I have a boyfriend of 6 years. I know she doesn’t like him, but she knows he exists. Does she know something I don’t? Did Sonnett tell her that she likes me? I hope not. I don’t wanna hurt her.

After breakfast Tobin and I head to the stadium for practice. When we walk in to the locker room I make eye contact with Sonnett and we smile at each other. I go over and sit at my locker. I glance back over at Sonnett and notice her and Tobin talking to each other since their lockers are next to each other. I really hope they’re not talking about me.

When we make our way to the field Mark brings us all into the huddle.

“Alright ladies, its our first game week of the season. We’re hosting the Pride this week. They’re a good team with a lot of threats, so we have to play well and play together. Let’s have a good practice today.”

We all split off into our forwards, midfielders, defenders, and goalkeeper groups. Every now and then I get a moment to glance over and watch Sonnett. I love watching her. She’s so fiery and passionate about the game. I hope we both get starts in the game this week.

Finally practice is over. We all file back into the locker room. As I begin to untie my cleats I feel a tap on my back. I stand up and turn around only to see a smiling Sonnett.

“You still good to come over tonight?” She asks me.

“Absolutely. Let me just ice and go home to shower and grab some dinner. Sound good?”

She doesn’t say anything. Just gives me a double thumbs up, smiles, and walks away.

She’s so silly. I love it.

*Emily’s POV*

I drive home blasting music. I was in such a good mood. Linds and I are finally getting to hangout. Shoot, I should probably make sure my apartment is nice and clean for her. On my way home I swing by Chipotle to grab dinner and head home to speed clean. I quickly pick up the apartment, scarf down my burrito bowl and shower. Afterwards I put on leggings and a UVA crewneck. I look at my phone.

Lindsey: “On my way :)”

I smile knowing she’ll be here soon. As I finish washing dishes in the sink I hear at knock at the door. I open it and see a smiling Lindsey. She has her hair in a braid again. Oh I love that braid.

I let her in and quickly show her around my one bedroom apartment. 

“Sonnett, where are all your decorations?” Lindsey asks me.

“I’m not much of a decorator. Plus I’m never here between traveling with the Thorns and the national team, nobody would be here to enjoy them.”

“Okay I get that. But one of these days we’re definitely gonna get some things to spruce up this place a little.”

“Whatever you say. Would you like anything to drink or eat?”

“I’d love some water.” Lindsey says.

“Okay I’ll grab us both a bottle and why don’t we go sit on my balcony? The view isn’t great during the day but at night its fun to look at the lights.”

I grab two Dasani water bottles out of the fridge and join Lindsey out on the balcony. 

“So Sonnett, Sonny, Son. Tell me all about Emily Ann Sonnett.”

“Well I was born and raised in Georgia. I have a twin sister, Emma, and she’s my absolute best friend. Ever since I was little I’ve been the biggest tomboy there was. Sneakers are my favorite thing in the world and I’m slightly a sneaker head. Growing up I played whatever sport I could get my hands on but always ended up choosing soccer. I was raised in Christian faith and that’s really important to me. Here, check out my cross tattoo on the back of my neck.” I say lifting up my bun so Lindsey could see. “I went to Virginia for college and majored in sociology. Oh and the MOST important thing about me. Waffle House is my favorite thing in the world. 

“Wow that was quite the run down. Sad to say, I don’t think I’ve ever had Waffle House.”

“WHAT?!?!?! You haven’t lived. This offseason you’re visiting Georgia with me and we’re getting you and All-Star breakfast.”

“Haha, I look forward to it.”

“So what about you, Ms. Lindsey Michelle Horan? What’s your story?”

“Well I grew up in Colorado with an older brother Mike. He’s always been one of my biggest supporters. I knew from an incredibly young age that this is what I wanted to do. So from the day I decided until the day I got drafted I worked and worked at my game. I made a lot of decisions that not a lot of people favored. Like, in high school I didn’t even play for my high school team. I played only for club. People didn’t understand this but I knew that I would get better visibility playing for the Rush. Then you know the PSG choice. One morning I woke up knowing I was gonna be a Tar Heel for UNC, then the next I was on my flight to France with my mom. I lost a lot of friends from that decision.”

“Man, Linds. Well I just have to say you deserve to be where you are today. Every step of the way you’ve chosen this path. That’s really unique to hear.”

“Yeah it was never an easy decision. I faced a lot of criticism from people. I lost a lot of friends. But I also had an amazing support system who understood the vision and why I needed to do what I was doing.”

“I’m glad you had those people. Moving to a different state at 18 for me was crazy, how was it moving to another country?”

“Oh man, PSG was rough at the beginning. And it wasn’t even adjusting to the lifestyle or the language. The coach was brutal on me. The week of our first game he walked into the locker room and in front of everyone announced that ‘Lindsey until you lose more weight you’ll never play for this team.’” That-that was one of the hardest moments of my whole life. Days before I had just beaten the whole team in the fitness test. Now my playing time was not being based off of my abilities, it was being based off of how I looked.”

I could hear her voice starting to crack and see the tears forming. Oh no, I shouldn’t have asked about this. I quickly stepped inside and grabbed her some tissues. I went back out and handed them to her. She thanked me.

“Well clearly that guy was an idiot, Linds. After seeing your performance over your 4 years you proved him wrong.”

“Yeah I know. Sometimes even today that comment lowers my confidence though.

I wrap my arm around her. “But it shouldn’t Linds. Any male who makes a comment like that about your body should not have any impact on how you see yourself. You were there to play soccer, not be in a beauty pageant. Although, even if you were you’d win that too.” I hear her giggle.

“Thanks Sonny. Anyway enough of this sad stuff. Wanna go in and watch a movie?”

“Sure.” We go in and take our spots on the couch. I flip on The Hangover and we start watching. Soon she leans her head on my shoulder. I smile. I really enjoy her company. She makes me feel good. Next thing I know her phone rings.

“Hey it’s my boyfriend. I’ll be right back.” She says.

Boyfriend? She has a boyfriend? This night just turned awful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> I appreciate you reading my story. If you'd like to talk more USWNT fanfics or woso in general find me on Tumblr: smileysonny
> 
> Feel free to leave comments or suggestions :)


	4. Team Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Thorns go to the Oregon coast for some pre-season bonding.

*Lindsey’s POV*

It’s been two weeks since moving to Portland and I haven’t been happier. I forgot how much I missed the States. It’s also been so nice to have Tobin here with me, I’m not sure I’d be having as much fun as I am without her. 

This weekend the team is taking a trip to the coast for team bonding. I’m really excited for it. Getting to play on the field with all of them has been great, but I know it’s only gonna be made better with our chemistry off the field. 

When we all arrive to the hotel we’re immediately directed to the team meeting room to pick up our keys and receive our room assignments. When I get to the front of the line I pick up my packet. There’s a sticker on the front that reads all of my information.

Lindsey Horan  
Room: 167  
Roommate: Emily Sonnett  
Group: 3

I walk over to Emily and throw my arm around her and say “Hey roomie.” She smiles and says “Sick.” Even though we’re the two newbies we haven’t hung out much. She always seems to get quiet when I’m around, even that first day we met at breakfast.

We get to our room and I let us in. Emily asked which bed I wanted. I asked her if it was okay if I had the bed near the door because sleeping near the window always scared me. She chuckled and said “Sure, I’ll be the first one to take the hit of fresh air and sunshine.” This made me giggle.

We headed down to dinner and we all went to sit with our assigned groups. After dinner Coach went to the front of the room and started speaking. He started by addressing the goals he had for us as a team and what our program strived to represent. After all of the serious stuff we decided to have some fun.

We all had to draw things that represented our individual journeys to that point. I tried my best to draw what I visualized in my head, but drawing has never been my strong suit. When I presented my picture I got a lot of laughs. I felt embarrassed, but knew that the girls were just having a good time.

Emily, on the other hand. Her drawing was awesome. She managed to incorporate all aspects of her life; being a twin, being from the Georgia peach state, going to UVA, and now being a Thorn. Her story was also really funny, while sweet at the same time. I should’ve asked her to help me with mine.

When we got back to the room Emily and I both laid on our separate beds.

“Lindsey?” Emily said.

“What’s up?” I responded.

“I just wanted to let you know I really liked your picture and your story. i’m sorry if your feelings got hurt. I can’t imagine how hard it was choosing to forego college. I’d love to hear more about it sometime.” Emily admitted.

“Thanks Em. I know it was bad, I would’ve laughed at it too. Yeah I’d love to talk about it more. But maybe another night? It’s getting late and we have an early morning hike tomorrow.”

“You’re right. Goodnight Linds.”

“Night Sonnett.”

*Emily’s POV*

Sonnett? Did she just call me Sonnett? Only those closest to me call me that. But I didn’t mind. I liked hearing her say it. 

“Emily? Emily.” I hear someone say.

I open my eyes to see Lindsey standing over me.

“Yeah?” I say in a tired voice.

“It’s time to get up for breakfast.” She tells me.

We both get ready to head downstairs. I notice she put a braid in her hair. I think it looks really cute. We both take seats with our groups. I can’t help but keep glancing over at her. She must really like yogurt, considering she grabbed two. That’s another cute little quirk about her, like being afraid to sleep next to the window.

We all arrive at the mountain we’re about to hike. Making our way up the hill we all talk to each other. At one point Tobin and I start talking. She asks me if I’ve been liking Portland. She gives me a few of her favorite places to eat and shop. She says, “Well I can’t wait to meg you next practice” and lightly punches me in the arm as she walks away to talk to someone else.

We finally reach the top of the mountain. Its such a beautiful view. We all stand quietly taking in the moment before we start asking each other for pictures. Lindsey asked me to take a picture of her sitting, looking out at the view. After I snapped the picture I looked at it to make sure it looked good. I stopped and couldn’t believe what a great picture it was. The view was beautiful, but Lindsey was the best part of the picture. Before going back down Lindsey and I got a picture together. It was my new favorite picture. 

Once we got back to the bottom we all got back in the vans and rode back to Portland. When I got back to my apartment I made myself dinner. My favorite, salmon and Brussel sprouts. After cleaning the dishes I went to take a shower. When I got out of the shower I looked at my phone and saw I had a text from Lindsey.

Lindsey: “Hey here’s our picture from today. Not sure what looks better, the view or us :)”

I felt my stomach flutter. I decided I wanted to see her again.

Me: “Haha definitely think it’s us. I was wondering, wanna come over after practice tomorrow? I’d love to finally hear your story.”

After I got done putting my pajamas on I saw my phone light up with Lindsey’s response.

Lindsey: “Sure! Can’t wait.”

I couldn’t wait either.


	5. Bad Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Lindsey deal with the repercussions of last night.

*Emily’s POV*

I woke up this morning with extra heavy eyes. I didn’t sleep great last night. I’m not sure how to feel, I know I have feelings for Lindsey but she has a boyfriend and I don’t want to ruin our friendship. Lindsey left quickly after her boyfriend called. She seemed upset. I hope everything’s okay.

I hop out of bed and go to the kitchen to make a smoothie. Today should be a pretty easy practice since we have our first game tomorrow. Mark is supposed to tell us the starting line up today. I hope Lindsey and I are both on it.

When I get to the stadium for practice I walk in and take my seat at my locker. I see Lindsey sitting at hers listening to music. Normally we give each other a funny look when we get to the locker room, but today, nothing. 

“Hey Em, how was your night with Lindsey?” Tobin asks interrupting my thoughts.

“Oh, hey Tobin. It was good.”

“Good? That’s all? You both seemed so excited to spend time together.”

“Yeah things were going great, and then her boyfriend called her. She left pretty quickly after that.” I sigh. “Do you know much about him?”

“Russell? Yeah I know enough about him. I’ve never been the biggest fan.”

“Really? Why?” I ask intrigued.

“We’ll talk later. We better get ready for practice anyway.” Says Tobin.

I finish putting my cleats on and head out to the field. We’re all split up into our groups and start doing position drills. I can’t help but glance over at Lindsey. She seems to really be struggling today. She’s miss touched the ball at least 4 times. That’s not like her at all. Something must have happened between her and Russell.

After we finish with 11 on 11 Mark calls us into the team meeting room. He discusses our overall game plan for tomorrow. Finally, he projects the starting line up for the game. I scan the screen and find “Sonnett” in the right outside back position. I then look up at the midfield and see “Horan” in one of the spots. I look over at Lindsey and see her smile. It’s nice to see her smile after having a rough day.

After our meeting we all head back to the locker room to shower and change. Tobin nudges my knee to get my attention.

“Wanna grab dinner tonight? We can talk about everything.”

“Sure. You pick.”

We didn’t talk much on the ride over to the restaurant. I was too anxious to hear about Lindsey’s boyfriend and why Tobin doesn’t like him. We entered the Pho restaurant that Tobin had picked and sat in a booth near the back. When we sat down Tobin started the conversation.

“So, what happened last night?”

“Well, we just sat and talked about how we got to where we are now. Lindsey told me about PSG and how awful the coach was to her. Then we started to watch a movie and he called. She stepped out to take the call and when she came back in she told me she needed to go home.”

“Weird, it’s not like Lindsey to just rush out like that. She did seem off today.”

“You did say you’re not a huge fan of Russell…why is that?”

“He doesn’t treat her the way she deserves. They were dating for two years when she decided to move to France and he was not in support at all. She almost didn’t go. But then he decided that dating a professional athlete would look good for him, so he told her to go. The whole time we were in France she would get sent pictures of him hanging out with and partying with other girls. It made me so angry to see her get hurt repeatedly. She said she trusted that he didn’t do anything with any of the girls, but I never trusted him for a second.”

“That’s awful. Why does she stay with him?”

“I could never figure that one out.”

I’m filled with so much anger. How could anyone ever treat Lindsey like that? And why does she allow it? Tobin and I eat our Pho and then head back to the stadium so I can get my car.

“Hey Emily, sleep well tonight. Tomorrow is about to be the day you dreamed of.” Tobin reminds me.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Tobes.”

I drive home and head to bed, dreaming of what my first professional game will hold.

*Lindsey’s POV*

I get home from practice and collapse on my couch. Ugh, what an awful day. I’m lucky to still have a starting spot after my embarrassing performance today. While I’m laying there my phone lights up. It’s a text from Sonnett.

Emily: “Crazy to think our dreams of playing professional soccer in America starts tomorrow! You ready?”

I’m really not in the mood to talk to anyone right now, not even Sonnett. All I answer is “Yeah!🌹” I hope this doesn’t upset her. I hope she’ll understand once I tell her.

My phone lights up again. I assume it’s another text from Emily. I grab it. I notice it’s not her, its a call from Russell.

“Hi.” I say, not wanting to speak to him.

“Hi? That’s all I get? What the hell is wrong with you tonight?”

“I’m not in the mood now Russell.”

“Yeah, that’s part of our problems. Anyway, I guess I’ll let you go. You have a big game tomorrow. Go make me some money.”

He hangs up. Go make HIM some money? That’s all this relationship has ever been for him. Why do I continually put up with this?

I wish I could talk to Sonnett about this. She always knows how to cheer me up. But I don’t want to get her involved with the mess Russell and I are. I decide to just go to bed.

“I will not let him ruin soccer for me.” I repeat to myself to get my head ready for game day the next day.


	6. Falling Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A phone call leads a tearful Lindsey at Emily's door at 2AM.

*Lindsey’s POV*

I wake up to the sound of my alarm. I smile knowing that it’s game day. I love game day. I get out of bed and go into the kitchen. I make myself my favorite game day breakfast; eggs on toast, oatmeal and a yogurt. 

After I finish my breakfast I grab my laptop to get some work done. With the Olympics just 3 months away we are all very busy talking with Jill and Dawn about what we need to do to finalize a roster spot. I open up my email to see an email from Jill.

From: Jill Ellis  
To: USWNT  
RE: Olympic Roster

I hope this email is finding you ladies well. Just wanted to let you all know that we will be releasing the roster for the Olympics this week to all of you. You all will be receiving a call from me some time this week. I look forward to talking to all of you. Good luck in your first NWSL games!

Jill

Wow. I can’t believe they have the roster already. I really hope I made this one. It still bothers me that I wasn’t on the roster for the World Cup last year.

I finish up answering emails and decide to talk a walk to clear my head for the game tonight. The more time I spend in Portland the more I fall in love with it. One of my favorite things to do is just start walking and get lost in the city. As I’m walking I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. I pull it out to see a text from Russell.

Russell: “I want three goals from you tonight.”

I’m not even going to bother answering. He’s not gonna get any if I left him psych me out like this. 

When I get home it’s time for me to head to the stadium to get stretched. Once I arrive I’m bombarded by Sonnett. 

“Linds, are you okay? You seemed off yesterday.”

“Yeah Son, I’m fine. Just some stuff at home.”

“Oh okay, well you can always come talk to me if you need.”

“Thanks.” I say with a smile. She smiles back. I missed that goofy grin yesterday.

I head to my locker and grab my headphones to turn on some music. I put on my pre-game playlist and Drake starts blaring through my ears. I head to the training room to get stretched. Soon we’re out on the field for warmups. When we head to the locker room Mark has his speech ready for us.

“Alright ladies, first match today. I’m proud of all of the work you ladies have put in so far this season and I’m excited to see it payoff. Hey, Horan, Sonnett. You two ladies enjoy today. Let’s play like the team I know we are and kick some Pride ass!!”

When we get in the tunnel Sonnett is right in front of me. The kids who walk out onto the field with us come grab our hands. I have a little girl and Sonnett has a little boy. I try talking to my little girl but she seems super shy. Emily takes notice to this and tries to make the situation better.

“Are you nervous to go out there?” Emily asks. The little girl shakes her head yes.

“Well me too!” Exclaims Emily. “This is my first game so my nerves are going crazy. But you know what? You have the best buddy to walk out with. Lindsey won’t let anything happen to you. She’s awesome.”

The little girl smiles up at me. I give Sonnett a smile and we get ready to walk out. Walking out of that tunnel for the first time was crazy. Portland loves their soccer and you could feel it in the stadium that day. Once the national anthem is over we’re ready to play the game.

The Pride get off to an early lead with a goal in the 12th minute. Fortunately, we scored a goal in the 25th minute to even the score 1-1. That’s how the score stayed until halftime. When we went into the locker room we were all talking strategies. Tobin came over to me.

“Hey Linds, you’ve been getting open in the box all game. You do that more and I’ll get you the ball. Finish the job.”

I give her a thumbs up. Looks like they’re counting on me to score the next goal for us. This is a moment I’ve been waiting for my whole life, I’m gonna take advantage of it. 

We head back out to start the second half. The whole game is played pretty even. I guess they started taking notice that I was getting a lot of open space in the box because I don’t have any room anymore. Both teams are getting good looks but nobody can find the back of the net. Until the 81st minute.

I see Tobin get the ball, so I do what she told me. I run to the box trying to find an open hole. I find a small pocket of space and throw my hand up. She notices and sends the ball through. Next thing I know I’m making contact and it’s hitting the back of the net. I immediately run over and hug Tobin and the rest of our teammates join. I couldn’t believe I scored in my first game.

We ended up winning 2-1. It felt good to win our first game, especially in front of our home crowd. When I got home I decided to call Russell to celebrate with him. 

“Hey Linds.”

“Russell!! Did you see the game? I scored the winning goal!”

“I know. That was great.”

“Russell can we talk now?”

“Lindsey, I don’t know if there’s much to say. We’ve done long distance for 4 years and I think I’m just done with it.”

“What do you mean you’re done with it?”

“I mean that I’m moving on. I’ve been meaning to tell you, but I’ve found somebody else. That’s why I’ve been so awful to you. I was hoping you’d break up with me so I didn’t have to do this.”

“But Russell—“

“Not but’s Lindsey. Go keep being the soccer star you are. Goodbye.”

Did that really just happen? 6 years of a relationship just thrown away in a matter of minutes? I fall onto my couch and start crying. I can’t believe it. After hours of scrolling through old pictures and messages I look at the clock. It’s 1AM. I go try to sleep. All I do is toss and turn. I decide I don’t want to be alone tonight.

*Emily’s POV*

After the game a few teammates and I went out for a celebratory dinner. I wanted to ask Lindsey to go but she was already gone when I got out of the shower. When I get home I call Emma because she wanted to talk, even though it’s 2AM in Georgia.

“EMMYYYY!” She screeches when she picks up the phone.

“Hi Emma! I miss you so much!!”

“I miss you so much too!! Dude, we’re so freaking proud of you! You should’ve seen mom and dad tonight. They both had their jerseys on and were glued to the TV.”

“Haha, I can imagine it. Tonight was awesome. This is what I’ve been dreaming of my whole life Emma. And now I’m living it.”

“I know Em, and it’s so awesome to see you so happy. Do you like Portland? How about your team?”

“Oh yeah I love Portland. I was worried at first never really spending time on the west coast but things are great. And my team? Oh they’re awesome. You know Tobin Heath? Yeah her and I had dinner together the other night.”

“Wow Tobin, I remember watching her at UNC and we were both amazed and all of the things she could do with the ball.”

“And you know that girl who scored the game winning goal? Yeah that’s Lindsey. She’s probably my closest friend here in Portland.”

“That’s awesome Em. I’m so happy to hear that life is treating you so well. But, I’m exhausted so I should really get some sleep. Goodnight, superstar!”

“Goodnight Emma.”

After getting off the phone with Emma I decide to go lay in bed and watch some TV. Next thing I knew I was zonked out. Although, it didn’t last long. I was woken up to someone pounding on my door. I got up and ran out. I looked through my peephole to see Lindsey standing there. I opened the door and saw her tear stained cheeks. I let her inside.

“Linds, what’s wrong?” I asked concerned.

“Russell. He-he broke up with me. He’s dating someone else.”

That damn Russell. It hurt my heart to see Lindsey this upset. And it was all because of him. I wrap her in a hug.

“I’m sorry for coming so late. I-i just didn’t know where else to go and—“

“No Linds, you’re completely fine. I told you you could always come to me and I meant it.”

We sat on the couch for some time while she cried. I looked at the clock, it was 4AM. I suggested that we try to get some sleep. I lead Lindsey to the bedroom and tuck her into bed. I go to leave the room and sleep on the couch but then I hear her say something.

“Emily, will you please sleep in here with me?”

I told her “Of course” and climbed into the other side of the bed. I couldn’t believe that I was laying in the same bed as her. As I close my eyes I feel her snuggle up next to me. 

“Em, thank you for letting me stay here tonight. And thanks for being my best friend. I love you.”

“I love you too, Linds.” 

And boy do I love her. More than she could ever know.


	7. Reserve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Lindsey learn their Olympic fate.

*Lindsey’s POV*

It’s been a few days since Russell broke up with me. Emily and I have been spending a lot of time together to get my mind off of it. I truly don’t know what I’d be doing if it weren’t for her. I’m starting to find a lot of things that make me happy without him.

We had a hard practice this morning. We had to do extra sprints in order to keep us in the best shape while waiting for our next game. After practice I decided to go home and relax by myself. I turn on my favorite show, Friends.  
Then, my phone starts ringing. It’s Jill. I turn the TV off and answer.

“Hey Jill. How are you?”

“I’m good Lindsey. I just wanted to call and congratulate you. You’re going to Rio to represent your country in the Olympics.”

“Wow, Jill I’m speechless. Thank you so much.”

“You’ve earned this Lindsey. See you in the next camp.”

We hang up and I sit there stunned. I can’t believe that all of my hard work and sacrifices have paid off. I’m still upset I was injured for the World Cup last year and couldn’t make the roster. Now’s my chance. I have to call someone. I think of Sonnett first.

“Hey Linds, is everything okay?” She answers.

“Everything is great Em! Jill just called, I made the roster!”

“Oh that’s great Linds.” She didn’t sound too excited.

“Have you heard anything?”

“Yeah, she called me a little while ago. I’m just a reserve.”

“Aw, I’m sorry Sonny. But at least you’ll still be there!”

“Yeah, I guess. I was really hoping to be on the roster. I’ve been playing the best I’ve ever played.”

“I know. But just take this as another opportunity to improve your game. They’ll come around in another 4 years. Here’s an idea, why don’t we go get some ice cream to cheer you up tonight?”

“Fine.”

*Emily’s POV*

Lindsey comes and picks me up so we can go get ice cream. We go to my favorite place, Salt & Straw. Lindsey gets espresso ice cream and I get honey lavender. After paying we go and sit on a bench in front of the building.

I get quiet when I have a lot on my mind so I’m not my normal talkative self. Lindsey then said something that really changed my perspective.

“Em, I know you’re upset but Rio 2016 is over. From this moment on all of your training is focused on France 2019 for the World Cup. Use Rio as part of that training.”

“You’re right Lindsey. I’m only 22. I still have a lot of soccer to play with the national team.”

We then decided to go for a walk around the city. I swear the more time I spend in this city the more I fall in love with it and the people here. Lindsey and I share stories with each other that we haven’t shared yet, like a lot of the experiences Lindsey had in France or my crazy college nights in Virginia. When we reach the water we sit down at the dock and watch the sunset. Lindsey leans her head on my shoulder.

“Linds, thank you for cheering me up today. I’m excited we both get to go to Rio, even if I’m just a reserve.”

“It’s the least I could do. Em, you’ve done so much for me the past couple days and I can’t thank you enough for that. I’ll always be here for you no matter what.”

“You know, Portland made a really good decision drafting both of us here. We make a pretty good team.”

“Oh please, they couldn’t keep us off of the same team.”

“Same team.” We both say giving each other a fist bump.


	8. Rio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The USWNT travels to Rio to compete in the 2016 Olympics.

*Lindsey’s POV*

“Linds, wake up. It’s time to go to the airport.” I hear Sonnett saying to me softly.

I stayed over at Emily’s place so that we could go to the airport together. We had at 5AM flight to Miami where the whole team was meeting to fly to Rio together. I’m super excited to be going to my first Olympics, and getting to go with my best friend makes everything 10x better.

When we board the plane Sonnett takes the window seat, remembering that I don’t like being near windows. We sleep nearly the whole flight, with me leaning on her comfy shoulder. When we land and find our next flight’s gate we’re bombarded by teammates. 

When we finally land in Rio it’s late at night, so when we all get to our hotel we crash. I’m roomed with Morgan Brian and Emily is with another reserve, Sam Mewis.

We are all up early the next morning for our first training. We have our first game against New Zealand in a couple days so we are all anxious to begin. Training with the national team is so different compared to Portland, the national team has some of the best players in the world to play alongside.

After training we all decide to do some sightseeing. I knew that getting to immerse myself in another culture was going to be one of the best parts of this experience. Every day leading up to our first game we would have a training and then go out sightseeing. 

Finally, it was game day. Entering the stadium hearing the fans chanting “USA!” is something I will never forget. We ended up beating New Zealand 2-0 and I actually got to play a lot of the second half. A few days later we had a match very personal to me, it was against France. We beat them 1-0 and I got to play for about 10 minutes. It was fun to see a lot of my old teammates again. Our final group stage game was against Colombia. I got my first Olympic start in this game which was super exciting, but we ended up drawing them 2-2.

We all were super excited to move on to the knockout rounds. We have our quarterfinal game against Sweden. They’re a really good team so even though we’re the favorite, we can’t overlook them. 

Going into extra time we are tied with them 1-1. Jill subs me in at the 114th minute. I can’t believe she’s actually calling on me to help us win this game, but I welcome the challenge. Neither team scores in extra time so we end up going to penalty kicks. I manage to make my PK, but we end up losing 3-4. We’re all stunned.

This isn’t how I imagined my first big tournament going. This is the worst we have ever done in a big tournament, now we all have to go home and regroup for France 2019.

*Emily’s POV*

Watching my team exit the tournament earlier than expected was a really disappointing moment. I was super proud of Lindsey for how well she played and even making her PK against Sweden. I learned a lot by watching from the stands though. I also made a really good friendship with my roommate, Sam.

One night we stayed up late talking about our journeys and how we feel about being reserves for this tournament. It was an experience that bonded us for life and we were constantly talking about places that we wanted to get better. So we decided to set personal goals to achieve over the next few years, the most important being make the roster for the 2019 World Cup.

It was time for all of us to leave. On the plane ride back to the States Tobin came and sat with me for a little.

“Hey kid, how was your first Olympic Games?”

“It was good. It was really fun getting to see a new country and I learned so much about myself and the game.”

“Oh yeah? I’m happy to hear that. How about our teammate Lindsey? She killed it this tournament.”

“I know, Linds is awesome. I’m super happy for all of her accomplishments.”

Tobin raised her eyebrows as if she wanted me to say more. I decided to open up to Tobin.

“Tobin, can I tell you something?”

“I’m all ears, kid.”

“Well you know Lindsey and I have been spending a lot of time together the past couple months and I think I’ve started to develop a crush on her.”

Tobin smirks. “What?” I ask her.

“I know you like her. I can see it in your eyes. I can hear it in your words. It makes me happy to see.”

“Except I can’t do anything about it. She’s still fresh off her relationship with Russell. And I don’t even know if she likes girls. And I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“Look, I’m gonna give you one piece of advice I needed to hear a few years ago. We all get that one special person. Sure, I believe we have multiple soulmates, but I believe that we all have our one truly special person. If I was too afraid to go after my special person I wouldn’t have Christen. I wouldn’t know where I would be if I didn’t have her. Just think about it, Em. And if you ever need any help me and Chris are always there for you.”

“Thanks a lot Tobin. That means a lot.”

What if Tobin is right? What if Lindsey is my one special person? I don’t want to miss out on that. I have to do something.


	9. Because, I Love You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Lindsey confront their biggest problem yet.

*Emily’s POV*

It’s been about a month since we got home from Rio. Lindsey, Tobin and I have all been training together. They’re determined to get me on that World Cup roster in 2019. 

I still haven’t told Lindsey how I feel about her. I haven’t found the right time, and I’m starting to think that there might not ever be a right time for this. It’s guaranteed to ruin our friendship, and I didn’t think that would ever have an expiration date. 

I decide that I need to talk to someone about this so I text Tobin. She said that she was visiting Christen, but I could call anytime and they’d be willing to help me.

I open my laptop and click on the FaceTime app. I then find the contact titled “Tobin Heath” and hit call.

“Sup, Emily?” Tobin says as her and Christen’s faces appear on my screen.

“Hey guys, how’s Utah?”

“It’s even better now that I’ve got her here with me.” Christen says as she pulls Tobin closer to her.

“So have you talked to Lindsey?” Tobin asks.

“No not yet, I haven’t found the right time.”

“Emily I’m gonna give you a piece of advice that I needed to hear back before I told Tobin how I felt about her. There is never going to be a right time. There is only the here and now. If you don’t act now then you might never do it. And think about what would have happened if I never said something. I wouldn’t have Tobin.”

“You’re right. I just don’t want this to ruin our friendship.”

“Emily, I’ve known Lindsey a little longer than you. This will only ruin your friendship if you let it, Lindsey won’t see it as ruined.”

“Okay guys, thanks so much for your advice.”

“We’re gonna go and play some Mario Kart. I might let Christen win this time.” Tobin says with a sly smirk.

“Sometimes you guys are so cute it’s gross. I’ll talk to you later.”

Tobin and Christen both had really good advice. It’s better to do it sooner than later. I text Lindsey.

Me: “Hey, Linds. Wanna go grab a few drinks tonight?”

Lindsey: “Yeah that sounds like fun! Around 8?”

Me: “That’s perfect.”

Well I guess tonight is the night.

*Lindsey’s POV*

I start getting ready to go have drinks with Sonnett. I throw on some jeans, a black v-neck and a long, gray cardigan. My Uber arrives and I get to the bar a little after 8. When I walk in I see Sonnett already sitting at the bar. I walk over to her.

“Well hello Sonnett.”

She turns and looks at me. “Wow Linds, I love your outfit.” She says smiling.

“Haha thanks Em. See, we look good when we wear something other than leggings and tank tops.”

“We sure do. So what are you drinking tonight?” Emily asks me.

“Oh, since we’re still in season I’m probably gonna do a gin and tonic. How about you?”

“I’m a huge beer fan, so I’ll probably get whatever is on tap.”

We both get our drinks and start talking.

“It’s hard to believe that our first NWSL season is almost over. I know we won’t be making playoffs this year, but we have so much promise for next year.” I say.

“I know. This year has been great. I’ve been living my dream and I met my best friend.” Emily adds. We both cheers to that.

We continue talking a lot about soccer and the goals we wanna set for next season.

“So, Linds there’s been something i’ve wanted to talk to you about.” Emily starts to say.

But I can barely hear her, something catches my eye that I completely zone out. Then I finally recognize who is walking towards me.

“Linds, what’s wrong?” Emily asks shaking me.

“Russell” is all I’m able to utter out.

*Emily’s POV*

I turn around to try and find where Lindsey’s eyes are locked. I find a guy who is about 6 foot with dark hair and an athletic build walking towards us.

“Hello Lindsey.” I hear Russell say. 

Lindsey looks stunned. “Russell, what are you doing here?”

“Oh I just wanted to come see you.”

“Why? What happened to your new girl.”

“Well, I’ve been watching how you’ve been playing and realized I made a big mistake. So I’m here to get us back together.”

Ha, not on my watch.

“Excuse me, you’re Russell? So you’re the one who made my best friend come crying to my door at 2AM one night?” I interrupt.

“And who are you?” Russell asks confused.

“This is Emily. She’s my best friend here and one of my teammates.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you Emily, but I’m here for business with Lindsey. Come on Linds, lets go talk somewhere privately.” He says grabbing her wrist.

“No, I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“I said ‘come on.’”

“She said no.” I say interrupting. Next thing I know, my fist is making contact with his face.

He falls to the floor holding his cheek. Lindsey and I run out of the bar and down the street to a Starbucks we could wait in while our Uber came. We finally get to Lindsey’s apartment and she grabs an ice pack out of her freezer to put on my hand. We both sit on her couch.

“Emily, I can’t believe you did that.”

“He’s hurt you once Linds, I wasn’t gonna let him do it again.”

“Yeah, well now thanks to you things are gonna get 10x worse.” Lindsey says sighing.

“Then let me protect you.”

“Why do you want to protect me?”

“Because, I love you!! I love you Lindsey Michelle Horan. I love your blonde hair and your blue-gray eyes and your single dimple and your giggle. I love how passionate you are about soccer. I love how you don’t like being near windows and how much yogurt you eat and your deep appreciation for Messi. I love everything about you Lindsey. And I’d do anything for you.”

There’s silence for a moment. I can’t believe I let all of that out. 

“Well say something, please.”

“I-i don’t know what to say. Emily you know I love you. B-but I don’t like girls in that way.”

Exactly what I was expecting to hear. “Okay, we’ll I’m gonna head home.”

“No, Em. It’s late. Please stay the night.”

“Fine.”

Lindsey heads to her bedroom but I don’t follow.

“Are you coming?”

“No. I’m gonna stay on your couch tonight.”

I see the hurt on her face when I say that. But I just can’t do it.

My hand hurts, but nowhere near as much as my heart does.


	10. Strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Lindsey return to Portland.

*Lindsey’s POV*

I wake up and remember what had just happened the night before. I quickly hop out of bed and go to out to the living room. I was hoping to see a sleeping Sonnett, but instead just an empty couch. I walk over and sit down. I notice a note sitting on my coffee table.

Dear Lindsey,

I’m sorry for messing everything up. I wish that I never would have caught feelings and we could continue being friends, but I don’t think we can now. I talked to Mark and he is allowing me to leave the team for the remainder of the season due to personal reasons. I need to go and reassess my future with this club and soccer in general. I hope you understand. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. You’ve been a great best friend. 

Sincerely,  
Emily

I can’t believe what I just read. There’s no way this can be happening. Maybe I can stop her before she goes. I quickly throw on some clothes, get in my car, and drive to Emily’s apartment. I walk up and start knocking on her door. When she doesn’t answer I start repeating “Emily. Emily please open the door. Emily.”

Someone starts yelling back “Lindsey! Lindsey! Lindsey!”

I spin in circles trying to find the voice saying my name.

All of a sudden my eyes fly open and I see my mom standing over me. 

“Did you have the dream again?” She asks.

“Yeah. Every night for the past 5 months.”

“Well, no time to dwell. You have a flight back to Portland to catch.”

“Oh yay.” I say sounding nowhere near excited.

As I finish packing my things I can’t stop thinking about Sonnett. I haven’t heard the official word whether or not she was gonna be a Thorn still or not. I hope she is. I need to figure out how to make things right with her. 

We drive to the airport and I say goodbye to my parents and brother. I then make my way through security and to my gate. While waiting to board the plane I scroll through social media. I notice that Sonnett has posted a story on Instagram. It’s a picture from her apartment balcony captioned, “Good to be back🌹” I guess this answers whether or not she’s coming back.

I land in Portland and make it back to my apartment. I’ve missed this place. It’s been really weird to be away. I quickly unpack and then head to the stadium for our team meeting. When I walk into the locker room I’m bombarded with a hug from Tobin.

“Lindsey!! I’ve missed you so much.” 

“Missed you too, Tobes.”

“Still haven’t heard anything from her?” She asks quietly.

“No.”

“Yeah, us either. It’s all gonna work out Lindsey, believe in that.” I smile and walk away.

We all slowly file into the meeting room. I’m staring at the floor until I hear the door open. Sonnett walks in with Mark laughing. I’ve missed hearing that laugh so much, it brings a small smile to my face. She looks good. I never really noticed how cute she actually is. She takes a seat a few rows away from me and the meeting begins.

After the meeting we all start to leave. I see Sonnett about to leave so I run after and yell, “Hey, Em.”

She turns around to see who yelled her name. When she sees me her eyebrows slightly lower.

“Hi Lindsey.”

“How have you been? I’ve missed hearing from you so much.”

“I’ve been good. Been really busy training.”

“Yeah, I get that. Wanna grab dinner and catch up?”

“Can’t, I have plans.” She turns and walks away.

*Emily’s POV*

I don’t actually have plans. It’s just that it’s my first night back in Portland and I can’t handle seeing Lindsey that much yet. The last 5 months have been such a healing time for me. I broke down one night to Emma and told her that I like girls. She was surprised, but was totally accepting and told me she loves me no matter what. I didn’t tell my parents quite yet, but they were worried about me so they made me start seeing a therapist. It helped, but I’m glad to be back on my own again. I’m just not ready to undo all my hardworking at healing quite yet.

When I get home I cook some dinner and sit down on the couch to watch a UVA men’s basketball game. While I’m watching I hear my phone buzz. It’s a text from Emma.

Emma: “Hi sissy. Just wanted to check in and see how your first day back in Portland has gone?”

Me: “It’s been good. Didn’t realize how much I missed being here.”

Emma: “Good! Have you talked to Lindsey at all?”

Me: “Yeah. After the meeting she asked me how I’ve been and if I wanted to get dinner, but I said no.”

Emma: “Em, you’re gonna have to talk to her eventually. She’s your best friend, that doesn’t have to change.”

Me: “She WAS my best friend. We’ll talk eventually, but when I’m ready.”

I finish watching the game and go to bed. I’m excited for training to start tomorrow.

The next morning I’m woken up by a call from Tobin Heath.

“Hello?” I answer.

“Emily Sonnett. Get up and get dressed we’re going to breakfast.”

“What?” I ask still half asleep.

“You heard me. Now get down here after you get ready.”

I hang up the phone and start getting dressed. I leave my apartment and walk downstairs to find Tobin sitting in her car. I go over and open the door.

“Gooooood morning.” She says goofily.

“Where are we going?”

“The cafe we met in a year ago.” She replies.

When we get there we both order our food and coffee and go have a seat.

“So Em, how have ya been kid?”

“I’ve been good. Spent a lot of time with family. Also trained a lot. Good luck megging me this year.” I say with a smirk.

“Yeah, well we’ll see about that one.”

“So how have you been, Hobin Teath?”

“Ahah, that nickname never gets old. I’ve been good. Christen and I did some traveling. We also spent a lot of with our families.”

“That all sounds really nice.”

“Yeah it was. Christen wanted me to pass on a message from her and I.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“Look, Em. I hope you know that neither of us wanted any of that to happen. We didn’t think things would end as poorly as they did. And when you wouldn’t talk to either of us it made us scared that we lost you too.”

“No, I know that you guys had me in your best interest. I just couldn’t handle talking to anyone attached to the situation. I’m really sorry I left you guys in the dark light that.”

“No worries. We’re happy to know that you’re doing better.”

Soon after our food comes. We eat it quickly and head to the stadium for practice. On the ride over to the stadium I smile over at Tobin knowing that things are normal between us again.

At least I have her. Lindsey and I are still strangers.


	11. Reuniting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Lindsey are forced to confront that night.

*Emily’s POV*

I’m so excited to our home opener tonight We have the Pride again and we’re looking to hopefully start the season with a win. 

Tobin and I have really been pushing each other in practices. I think it definitely has been helping the both of us a ton. I’ve been worried lately because I haven’t gotten a call up to the national team since the Olympics. I’m really hoping that it’s just Jill playing around with her options.

My relationship with Lindsey hasn’t gotten any better. I’m still just not ready to let her back in. Lately I’ve just been too focused on my game and our team being ready to really focus on the whole situation.

When I get to the locker room I go take my seat next to Tobin. We’re both in really good moods because game day is our favorite day. When Mark is giving us our pregame speech we can hear the fans cheering. Tonight is gonna be a good night. 

We all line up for the National Anthem. I stand there listening to my country’s song and looking around at all of our fans. I can’t believe I considered giving all of this up. The song ends and we shake hands with the Pride players. Then Lindsey comes walking over to me.

“Same team?” She asks extending her clenched fist, wanting a fist bump.

I forgot about this pregame ritual of ours. While we might still be on the same roster, we aren’t on the same team anymore. It had such a deeper meaning than us both having the Portland Thorns emblem on our chests. I shake my head and walk again.

We all have a great game. We end up beating the Pride 2-0. Mark is really happy with how the season is beginning. After the game when I’m leaving I hear a familiar voice call my name.

“Hey Em?”

I turn around. It’s Lindsey.

“Yeah?”

“We’re still on the same team.” 

“No. We’re on the same roster. That doesn’t mean we’re on the same team.” I walk away. She knows what I mean.

Our next game is against North Carolina. I’m really excited because this means I get to see Sam Mewis again. I haven’t seen her since we were Olympic roommates and we were really close friends.

On game day Sam and I decide to have lunch. It’s nice catching up with her about everything. She’s been getting a lot of call ups with the national team, which I’m really happy for her but it also concerns me that I haven’t been. We say goodbye while joking about who’s gonna win tonight.

Again standing there listening to the National Anthem strikes something in me. I can never give up this job, it’s the best thing to ever happen to me. Even though a majority of the fans are for the Courage I still like listening to them. It motivates me when people don’t like me. 

Once again Lindsey walks over to me. 

“Same team?”

This time I don’t even acknowledge it.

This game is a lot tougher than our first match up. The Courage score a goal and we aren’t able to recover from it. We lose 1-0. In the lock room Mark talks about how this whole season is going to have its peaks, valleys, and plateaus. The important thing is that we stick together through it all.

When we get back to our hotel I lay down on my bed while icing my knees. As I’m scrolling through my phone I get a text from Tobin.

Tobin: “Team meeting. Film room. Now.”

*Lindsey’s POV*

As I walk into the film room only Tobin and I are the ones in the room so far.

“Where is everyone?” I ask her.

“I’m sure they’re coming.”

I hear the door open. I look to see who it is. It’s Sonnett. She sits down a few rows behind me. Tobin stands up.

“Alright ladies. I’m glad you’re both here.”

“Tobin, what are you doing?” Emily asks annoyed.

“You know how Mark talked tonight about sticking together no matter what? Yeah I noticed we’re not very good at that. So instead of calling the whole team, I called the source of the problem.”

“Please let us go back to our rooms, Tobin.” I beg.

“No. You two are gonna stay in this room until you’re best friends again. Actually, I don’t care if you’re best friends again. Just learn how to be around each other again.”

Tobin leaves the room. Emily and I both are silent.

“So, you know you’ve been kind of a bitch the past few weeks, right?” I say trying to spark conversation.

“Oh I have? Well did you know you’ve been quite the pain in the ass? You haven’t left me alone since we got back.”

“Yeah, well it’s a little hard to leave someone alone when they haven’t spoken to you in 5 months.”

Emily doesn’t say anything back, but I can see that she’s thinking.

“Ya know, Sonny, things didn’t have to go how they did. I accept you for exactly who you are. It caught me off guard that you felt that strongly about me, but you didn’t have to leave.”

“Yes I did, Linds.”

“But why?”

“For my sanity. What did you expect? Me to just be laying on that couch the next morning waiting to go get breakfast with my best friend who I was in love with? I had to get away Lindsey. It hurt too much to be around you, even though you were the only one that I wanted.”

Was in love with. She said she WAS in love with me.

“Does it still hurt too much?” I ask her.

“No. I’ve done a lot of healing.”

“I’m glad to hear that you’re happy again.”

“I’m sorry for disappearing, Linds. But it’s what I needed to do for me.”

“No need to apologize. I get it.”

“So, where do we go from here?” She asks.

“Only up I guess.”

She gets up and walks over to me. She extends her fist out to me. I look up at her.

“Same team?”

“Same team.”


	12. Roles Reverse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lindsey and Emily go on a weekend get away.

*Emily’s POV*

It’s now summer time and we have a small mid-season break. Lindsey and I decide to take a mini vacation to get our minds cleared and refocused on soccer. It’s been really nice reconnecting with her the past couple months.

I drive to Lindsey’s apartment to pick her up to head to the airport. She comes skipping out with her bag in tow. She throws her bag in the back and gets in the front seat.

“Someone’s excited.” I say to her laughing.

“I am! The beach is one of my favorite places to be!” She exclaims. 

We make it to the airport and finally pass through security. As we’re walking something catches both of our eyes.

“Dunkin’!!” We both exclaim. We run into the store and grab our iced coffees. 

Soon we board our plane, me in the window seat and Lindsey in the aisle. A quick 2 hours later and we are landing in Los Angeles. We call an Uber and make our way to our hotel.

“Hi, checking in for Lindsey Horan.” I hear Lindsey say to the woman behind the desk. She gets handed our room keys and we start heading towards the elevator.

“What room are we?” I ask.

Lindsey looks down at the card holder. “You’re never gonna believe this. 167.”

“Wow. Back where this friendship was born.”

We find our room and walk in, throwing our things on the beds. 

“Sonnett, come check out our view!” I hear her call from the balcony.

I walk out and see our beautiful view. We’re right on the beach and have a perfect view of the sunset.

“I’m starving!!” I let out after observing our view for a few minutes.

“Why don’t we both get ready and go to dinner someone close?” Lindsey suggests.

We take our turns in the bathroom getting ready. I throw on some jean shorts, a v-neck and a long cardigan. Lindsey wears black jeans and a white shirt. We leave our hotel and go to a restaurant a few blocks away.

We sit down across from each other at the table and scan the menus. When the waiter comes I order the salmon with mixed veggies and Lindsey gets the grilled chicken salad.

“To reuniting with my best friend.” I say, holding up my glass.

“I’ll drink to that any day.” Lindsey says as she clinks her glass against mine.

“Ya know Linds, there was a time I really wasn’t sure that I could do all of this. Be your friend. Live in Portland. Play soccer.”

“Well, I’m really glad that you found that you could. I don’t know what I’d be doing right now if you weren’t here sharing in all of this with me. I also couldn’t live with myself if I was part of the reason you didn’t play soccer anymore.”

“Can I ask you something that I’ve had on my mind for a little while now?”

“Shoot, Em.”

“How did things ever end between you and Russell?”

“Well, when I went back to Colorado for the off-season he came to see me a few times. He attempted to get us back together but there was no way I would ever be going back to that. He never really understood what no meant, though. Until I told my brother, Mike, about what was going on. Mike had a little “talk” with Russell and I haven’t heard from him since.”

“Wow I’m sorry he wouldn’t leave you alone. But I’m really glad Mike was there to help you out.”

Just then the waiter brings our food over. The conversation ends as we both start scarfing down our dinners.

“Wow, that was amazing salmon.” I say.

“My salad was so fresh and good too.”

We both sit there digesting our meals while staring off into the distance until Lindsey breaks the silence.

“Sonny, I have a question for you now.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“You’ve been really quiet recently and we both know that’s not like you. What’s been on your mind?”

“Oh I don’t know. I’ve just been concerned about my standings with Jill and the national team. It’s been almost a year since my last call up for the Olympics. I’m starting to feel like that dream has passed me by.”

“No way Sonnett. I’ve been seeing all the work you’ve been putting in. There’s no way you won’t be rewarded for that. You know how Jill is, she’s probably just in one of her experimental stages.” Lindsey says reassuringly.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Anyways, you ready to get out of here?”

“Sure, let’s head back.”

*Lindsey’s POV*

I haven’t been able to get my conversation with Sonnett out of my head. It hurts me to see her so down on herself and her abilities. Jill has to be able to see how much progress Emily has made.

“Well I’m gonna hit the hay. Goodnight Linds.”

“Night Son.”

The next morning we decide to head down to the beach to get some sun tanning in. When we get to the beach we find the perfect spot and lay our towels down.

“Hey, do you mind rubbing sunscreen on my back where I can’t reach?” Emily asks me.

I look over at her standing in her bikini and realize that I didn’t notice her take her shorts and tank top off. I start rubbing the lotion on her back and feel something different inside of me. I’ve never felt this feeling before. Especially being with Emily. I push it out of my mind and lay down on my towel to soak up the sun.

I must have fallen asleep right there because next thing I know I’m being shaken by Emily as she says my name.

“What?” I say half asleep as I turn and look at Sonnett.

“I got us sandwiches!” She says, holding up a bag.

“Oh wow, turkey and cheese, my favorite. Thanks Son.”

After we finish our sandwiches I lay back down on my towel to soak up more rays.

“Hey you wanna try and go surfing?” Emily asks me randomly.

“Me? Surfing? That’s not gonna end well.” I say laughing. “But you could go give it a shot.”

“Okay. Will you take videos of me so I can send them to Kelley to show her I tried it?”

“Sure thing. Go out there and prove to Miss Kelley that she’s not the only Peach able to surf.”

I watch as Emily heads out to the water with the board she just rented. It makes me nervous to see her going out there alone, but there’s a lot of other people out there which calms my nerves. As I watch her wading out in the water that feeling comes back.

I can’t be catching feelings for Emily. I don’t like girls. And I couldn’t do this to her after everything we’ve been through. No matter how cute I think she is in that bikini I can’t be feeling these things.

I watch as she tries to stand up on her board and I take videos to send to Kelley later. She’s been unsuccessful so far and she looks so silly out there as she flails around trying to find her balance. 

One time she actually does find her balance. She holds her thumb up to me and I give her a thumbs up back. That knocks her off balance though and she hits the water hard. I stop the video and run to the water as fast as I could. 

“Em! Are you okay?” I ask worriedly as she makes her way to shore.

“Yes, Linds. I’m fine. Did you get me standing? I can’t wait to show up Kelley.”

“Yes, don’t worry you little competitor. I got the video.”

The rest of the day we spent on the beach. We kicked a soccer ball around for a little and accidentally ended up joining a family’s ultimate frisbee game. We ended the night by watching the sunset from our balcony.

When we got up the next morning it was already time for us to head back to Portland. Being athletes we’re used to being at places for short periods of time, but I wish we had more time here.

When we’re on the plane Sonnett leans her head on my shoulder. I watch as her breathing gets slower and I notice that she’s fallen asleep on me. I can’t help but think back to the feeling I had yesterday.

No Lindsey. You can’t have feelings for her.

You can’t.


	13. Winning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Thorns play in the 2017 NWSL Championship.

*Emily’s POV*

*buzz buzz* *buzz buzz*

I wake up to the sound of my phone buzzing. I quickly grab it, see it’s a call from Emma. I haven’t talked to her in a little while because I’ve been so busy with our team making it to the NWSL Playoffs. I get out of bed, slide on some shoes and sneak out of the room as to not wake my roommate, Lindsey, up.

“Hey twinkie.” I respond, excited to hear her voice.

“Hi wombmate, how have you been?”

“Oh, super busy. The whole team has been super focused on finally bringing another title home for Portland. Did you get to watch the last game?”

“Of course I watched it. And I can’t express how proud I am of you for scoring!”

“Haha I nearly thought my head was going to explode with excitement.”

“It honestly looked like it on TV. So, how you gotten the chance to tell Lindsey about…well, you know?”

“No I haven’t. I wanted to wait until the game is over. I don’t want to stress her before then.”

“That makes sense.”

“Well I better go get ready for our team breakfast this morning. Thanks so much for calling. Love ya.”

“Good luck today Em!! Love you too.”

When I go back into the room Lindsey is starting to stir.

“Where’d you go?” She asks sleepily.

“Just stepped outside to answer Emma’s phone call. Come on, get up. We better head downstairs to get breakfast.”

We head downstairs and meet the rest of our team for breakfast. Lindsey and I both get our normal eggs on toast and oatmeal, except mine with sweet potato and Lindsey has to have her yogurt.

After we finish eating Mark gets up and starts the final scouting report that day. A big goal for our defense was to shut down Sam Mewis, which made me really proud. She’s grown so much as a player and now she’s team’s main objective.

After the scouting report we all head to the field for our game day practice. Spirits are high as we take the field and Mark is even letting us practice with music blaring today. All of us are looking really good. We all leave that session feeling really good about that night.

When we get back to the hotel we all disperse to our rooms to shower, nap, relax, or whatever our hearts desire. I decide to shower and relax. Lindsey and I flip through the channels until we land on the Game Show Network. We get entranced in reruns of Family Feud and The Chase. Before we know it it’s time for our team dinner.

Everyone is sort of quiet at dinner. There’s small talk of strategies, but most are just focusing in on the job they need to complete tonight. The whole way to the stadium I have pop remixes blasting through my headphones. My favorite moment before a game is tying my cleats while getting in the zone.

I stand listening to the National Anthem play, thinking how different life was a year ago. An immense amount of pride comes over me for how much work I have done on myself in the past year. Once the anthem is over Lindsey and I find each other, doing our “same team” fist bump. A tradition that never gets old for us. 

The game starts quickly and is very physical from the first touch. Tobin and Haley Raso get yellow cards early and the Courage commit their fair share of fouls. Both teams have a lot of opportunities, but neither of us are able to cash in. We enter halftime 0-0. 

In the locker room we can all feel the momentum building, we just had to make sure that it’s in our favor. When we get back on the field we want to attack early, so we decide to press on them a lot. 

In the 49th minute a handball is called on the Courage near the midline of the field. I am called upon to take the free kick. I examine my options and decide I’m gonna put it in the box and hope it lands at the feet at one of my teammates charging the box. The ball leaves my foot and I lose it temporarily, but next thing I know I see Lindsey booting it past the goalie into the back of the net. I immediately start running towards her.

Our whole team and all of our fans are going crazy. I jump on the celebration pile and find Lindsey, giving her a hug. It was such a special moment being able to say that Lindsey and I connected for that goal.

The rest of the game felt like it crept by. I couldn’t wait to hear that final whistle. When it finally sounded I couldn’t help but fall to my knees in pure joy. We did it.

*Lindsey’s POV*

I scan the field trying to find Sonnett, only to see her on her knees smiling ear to ear. I go and pick her up and wrap her in a hug. As a team we all celebrate out on the field, only knowing that the real celebration starts later.

We finish answering all media questions, make it through the trophy ceremony and then make our way to the locker room, where the champagne is flying all around the room. I’m pouring it in Sonnett’s mouth, I’m getting it sprayed in my face. I truly lost all sense of reality for a moment. There was one thing I knew though, as I stood there watching Sonnett dance in celebration, I was telling her how deeply I feel about her tonight.

Mark enters the locker room spraying champagne at all of us. When we all settle down he begins his speech.

“I can’t put into words how proud I am of you ladies. You fought so hard tonight and all year. There’s no one I’d rather have in the locker room with us and I’m so grateful for each and every one of you. I know things didn’t start out the best, but do you all remember what I said when we first lost to this team? That we will climb the hill as long as we all stick together. Boy did we stick together.” He says this glancing at Son and I. “And boy did we just climb that hill.” He finishes as the locker room erupts again.

We get back to the hotel and shower washing the sweat-champagne combination that coated all of our skin. When I get out of the shower I look at myself in the mirror.

“You can do this Lindsey. Tonight is the perfect night. Neither of you have been happier together. Go get your girl.” I say softly to myself to make sure that Emily in the other room doesn’t hear me.

We all head out to a bar that was reserved just for our team to celebrate together. I grab a few drinks, knowing that what I’m about to do is gonna be easier after a few drinks. After I down them I go and find Sonnett.

“Hey, wanna step outside for a sec? I have something to tell you.” I say into her ear so only she can hear.

“Sure, let’s go. I have something to tell you too.”

When we get outside I decide to hear her news first. Partially out of fear, but I also wanted to hear what she had to say in case my words didn’t end well.

“What’s up?” I ask her sparking the conversation.

“So, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. You know I’ve been struggling a lot with not getting call ups to the national team recently. I’ve evaluated a lot and I decided I need a change in my training, since it’s not working. I’m gonna go to Australia on a loan and play for Sydney FC.”

Australia?


	14. Never Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lindsey reacts to Emily's news.

*Lindsey’s POV*

Australia? There’s no way she could be leaving and going that far. I soak up her words, forgetting to respond.

“Linds?” I hear her say, interrupting my thoughts. 

“Oh, sorry. I was just making sure I really heard what you said. So, Australia, huh? For how long?”

“Probably around 4 or 5 months.”

5 months? That’s almost half a year! I spent that period of time without her once before. I don’t want to have to do it again.

“Wow, thats a long time.” I say trying not to be upset, but it doesn’t work.

“Please don’t be upset Linds. This is what’s best for me.”

“I’m not upset. It’s-it’s just that I already had to spend that amount of time away you from and I don’t want to have to do it again.”

“But this time it will be different. I’m not disappearing on you. We can text everyday and FaceTime every week or so. Believe me, I’d rather be here training with you. But I know this will help me gain a spot on the roster.”

“Only if you promise to not disappear on me again.”

“I promise Linds.”

I hug her, letting know I am proud and happy for her.

“So, what did you wanna talk to me about?”

I panic. There’s no way I can tell her how I feel now. 

“Er, um, ya know what? Never mind. It was silly anyway. Let’s go back and celebrate with the team.”

“You sure?” Sonnett asks raising her eyebrows.

“Positive.” I say.

Time to go drown my sorrows in alcohol.

*Emily’s POV*

When we go back inside I feel really relieved that I told Lindsey about me leaving. This has been eating at me a lot the past few weeks and knew that she was the one I needed to tell first. 

I walk over to grab a drink from the bar. Soon, Tobin joins me. She walks up and throws an arm around my shoulder.

“Emily!! You played such a great game tonight. And that assist? Impeccable.”

I can tell she’s past the point of being tipsy.

“Haha, thanks tobes. I never formally thanked you for what you did for me and Lindsey. Without that I’m not sure the season would have ended this way, and I definitely wouldn’t have my best friend again.”

“Just doing what I gotta do for my favorite people, ya know. Wait, don’t tell Christen I said that, she’s my favorite.”

“What can I get for you ladies?” The bartender interrupts our conversation.

“I’ll take a Budweiser. And my friend right here will just take a water, please.” I tell him.

“Hey, no fun.” Tobin sighs.

“You’ll thank me later. But while I have you, I need to tell you something.”

“What’s that dude?”

“So, I decided I need a change in my training. I’m gonna go play in Australia for Sydney FC this offseason.”

“Woah, that’s awesome. Playing Internationally was one of the best things I’ve done. You’re gonna love it.”

The bartender then brings over my beer and Tobin’s water.

“Well kid it was nice talking to you. But, I’m gonna go enjoy my water over there.” Tobin says pointing at Christen.

After grabbing my drink I head out to the dance floor and join my teammates who are goofily dancing. Clearly they all need to take a lesson from me. As we’re all dancing and enjoying each other’s company I hear a loud bang and a glass shatter on the floor. I look over to see Lindsey on the ground.

I go running over to her, being met at the same time with Tobin and Christen.

“Are you okay, Linds?” I ask worriedly, helping her up.

“Oh I’m fine.” She slurs.

She tries to walk away but we stop her when Tobin notices she has a cut on her forearm.

“Hey, Lindsey why don’t you take a seat. Emily, Tobin go grab me some paper towels if you can.” Christen orders.

Tobin and I both take off towards the bathroom.

“What got into her? She seems completely gone.” Tobin remarks as we’re gathering paper towels.

I hope this isn’t her reaction to me telling her about Australia. I didn’t mean for her to get so upset and then drunk because of it.

When we get back to Lindsey Mark has also come over to check on her.

“I called an Uber for you guys to talk her back to the hotel and take care of her.” He informs all of us.

When the Uber gets there we stand Lindsey up, with her arms around me and Tobin, and help her walk out to the car. Christen gets in first and then we put Lindsey in. Tobin sits in the front seat and when I go to slide in next to Lindsey she yells.

“No!! Not you! You aren’t coming!”

We’re all shocked.

“But Linds, it’s me Sonnett. I’m gonna take care of you.”

“No, just get on your flight to Australia already!” She yells in my face.

My mouth drops in surprise. I slowly get out of the car and thank Tobin, who had sobered up, and Christen for taking care of her. I close the car door and next thing I know they’re driving away.

*Tobin’s POV*

After a long ride of Lindsey crying we finally make it to the hotel. We get her out and head upstairs to me and Christen’s room. When we get her inside she flops down on the bed.

“Okay, Linds. Let’s take a look at your arm.” Christen says as I go to find her first aid kit that she always carries.

We both examine it and agree that a bandaid and some Neosporin should do the trick. After we bandage her up we decide we need to get her out of her dress and into something more comfortable. I offer up a pair of my shorts and a shirt. As soon as we finish getting her re-dressed Lindsey’s face turns green.

“Bathroom!” She yells.

We quickly help her walk to the bathroom as she starts to throw up into the toilet. Christen holds her hair back and rubs her back as I wet a cool towel to put around her neck.

She throws up on and off for about an hour before finally resting her head on the seat of the toilet bowl.

“I think I’m done. Can you guys help me lay down?”

We get her up off of the ground and lay her down on the bed. 

“Linds, here’s a trash can, a Gatorade and some crackers.” I say as I set them on the nightstand.

Christen and I start to clean up the room and get ourselves ready for bed.

“How can she leave and go to Australia?” Lindsey cries out. 

Christen and I both look at each other and know we have to comfort our friend. Christen takes a seat next to her on the bed while I sit more near the foot of the bed, facing Lindsey.

“She’s doing what’s best for her and her career. Don’t you want her to be on that roster with us in 2 years?” I ask.

“I do! But I don’t want it to be like last year. I can’t do that again. Not talking to her was the worst 5 months of my life.”

“But it won’t be like last year. You and her are on great terms. Sure, the time difference might be hard, but you and her won’t lose touch.”

“I just love her so much.” Lindsey cries again.

“We know you do.” Christen says rubbing her back.

“No you guys don’t. No one does. Emily was supposed to, but then she dropped the Australia bomb on me.”

“Lindsey, take a few deep breaths and then please explain to us what you mean.”

“It wasn’t supposed to happen. I don’t like girls, or at least I didn’t think I did. But then I realized that the love of my life was standing in front of me the whole time. And when she told me she was in love with me, I wasn’t ready. But now I am, and she isn’t. Tonight I was going to tell Emily how I felt about her. But I couldn’t after she told me she’s leaving. And now I’ll never get to.”

Christen and I both look at each other with surprised glances.

“Lindsey, don’t worry. Do you know how long I had to wait for Tobin? Too long. But now, looking back, I’d wait my whole life just to spend one day with her. The five months apart will fly by once you can be together again.”

“I don’t know how I’m going to make it.”

“That’s where I come in. You and I are going to train and keep your mind off of Emily.” I say, reassuring her that she won’t be alone.

“You’ve had a long day, champ. You need to get some rest. Now please close your eyes. Tobin and I will just be in the bed right over there. Wake us if you need anything at all.” Christen tells Lindsey.

Christen and I walk over to our bed and climb in. I stare at the ceiling going through everything that had just happened. It hurts me to see Lindsey in this shape, just like it hurt me to see Emily. 

Before finally dozing off all I can think about is how much I hope their hearts finally align.


	15. Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily takes off on her adventure.

*Emily’s POV*

It’s been a few days since we got back from the championship game. Lindsey never came back to our room that night and Tobin came by early the next morning to grab her stuff. We normally sit next to each other on the plane, but I decided to give her her space.

I’ve texted her and called her multiple times to see how she’s doing but she hasn’t returned any of them. It’s made me sad that I probably won’t get to say goodbye to her, the one person I actually want to say goodbye to. The only thing distracting me from everything is making sure that I have everything that I need packed.

I decide to give her one last shot before I leave.

Me: “Hey, I’d really like to get to say goodbye to you before I leave tomorrow morning. Please let me know if you wanna grab dinner or something.”

Hours later I finally get a response.

Lindsey: “Chipotle. 6 ‘o’clock.”

Even though the message is short I’m happy to even get a response at all. I finish packing before it’s time to go meet Lindsey.

When I get to Chipotle Lindsey is already there waiting for me. I walk up to her and when we make eye contact I can tell she’s been crying.

“Lindsey, are you okay?”

“I’m really sorry Sonny. I should’ve never treated you how I did the other night. You were only trying to help me but I was just so upset and—“

“No, it’s okay Linds. I get it. I’m sorry for kind of just springing Australia on you. I just didn’t want to upset you before the game.”

“I still shouldn’t have said what you said.”

“Well don’t worry about it anymore. Because I’m here and you’re here and there is some delicious guacamole over there waiting for us to eat it.” I say pointing over to the counter.

Lindsey laughs. “Let’s go, I’m starving.”

The whole meal we talk about all the things I have to try to do while I’m over in Australia and Lindsey offers tips about living in another country.

“I only request one thing while you’re over there.” Lindsey says.

“And what’s that?”

“You learn how to perfectly poach an egg. We both know I can’t do it, so I need you to learn.”

“Well I guess if you’re gonna learn to do something you might as well learn from the best.”

We finish our burritos and then head out of the restaurant. We get to our cars, parked next to each other, and start to say goodbye. As we hug I can feel Lindsey’s tears start to hit my shoulder. I get an idea.

“Hey, here’s a crazy idea. How about you come stay the night with me? That way we don’t have to say goodbye right now and I don’t have to pay for an Uber to the airport in the morning.”

“That sounds perfect. Delay our goodbye at least 12 hours.”

*Lindsey’s POV*

As I’m driving to Sonnett’s apartment I can’t help but smile at how well dinner went. I wasn’t sure she’d be able to forgive me for how I behaved. Another reason for me to love her.

When we get to her apartment we go inside and she has stuff all over the place.

“Dude, what tornado swept through here?” I ask.

“I like to call it the ‘I don’t know what to pack, by Emily Sonnett.”

“Well we can’t let you come back to this disaster in five months.”

We spent the rest of the evening cleaning. Even the most mundane things Son can make fun. I’m really gonna miss that while she’s gone.

“Well I think we did it.” Emily says plopping down on her couch.

“Does this mean we have to go to bed now?” I ask dreadfully.

“Not a chance. We have to get a final movie night in.”

Sonnett and I both snuggle up in the couch and turn on She’s The Man. I can’t help but be distracted by her contagious laugh throughout the movie. I’m really gonna miss these simple nights.

“Well I guess this means it’s time we have to go to bed.” Emily says yawing, while the movie credits roll.

“I guess we better get you rested for your adventure down under tomorrow.” I say elbowing her.

We both go and lay down in her bed. Even though things have been great between us we haven’t had a sleepover in the longest time. As I’m laying there dreading having to say goodbye in the morning Emily throws herself around me.

“Um what are you doing?” I ask surprised.

“You think I’m gonna leave without getting one last cuddle in from my best friend?”

“You’re so weird.” I laugh, but in all reality I don’t mind at all.

Soon I drift off to sleep, with Emily’s arms wrapped around me.

*ring ring* *ring ring*

Emily and I wake up simultaneously to the sound of her alarm going off.

“Ughhhhh.” Emily lets out as she rolls over to turn it off.

“Do we have to get up?” I ask.

“Only if you want me to not get fired from the team before I even get there.”

“As much as I’d love you to stay, I’d also love for you to experience everything possible.”

We both get out of bed and I make us coffee as Emily does last minute checks to make sure she has everything ready.

“Ready to go?” She says eagerly.

The whole drive to the airport I try and soak her presence up as much as possible. I can’t believe that I’ll have to be without her for the next five months. 

We pull up next to the curb under the United Airlines sign. We both hop out and I help Son pull her bags out of the car.

We both stand there looking at each other, dreading what is coming next. Next thing I know she’s pulling me into a tight hug.

“It’s only five months, I’ll be back before you know it.” She says into my ear.

“I know. I’m still just gonna miss you so much.”

“I’m gonna miss you too!! But fortunately we have technology and we can text and FaceTime until we’re practically sick of each other.

“I never get sick of you Em.”

She smiles. “Well the more we drag this out the harder it is.”

She pulls me into one final hug.

“Bye Linds.”

“Goodbye Sonnett.”

She walks into the airport waving and soon her back is turned walking away.

I get back into my car and drive away with tears in my eyes, wishing I could fast forward time.


	16. Sydney Success

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily plays her first game in Australia.

*Emily’s POV*

Inside the airport I make my way through security and finally arrive at my gate. I sit down and plug my phone in to get one final charge in before the 16 hour flight ahead of me. I spend my time waiting to board the flight texting back family, friends and teammates as they wish me good luck for my Australian adventure.

When I board the flight I take my seat in my first class window seat, thankfully due to all of the air miles I pick up when traveling with Portland and the national team. As we take off I look out the window and notice that we are flying right over Providence Park. I turn to point it out at Lindsey, but quickly am reminded that she’s not there with me when I look at the stranger sitting next to me. It finally hit me that I’m doing this without my best friend.

To perk up my mood I decide to scroll through the movie and TV selections that they have on the plane. I decide to watch some of my favorite episodes of Grey’s Anatomy to pass the time. After I eat the subpar airplane food I decide it’s time to sleep. I take a melatonin and 10 minutes later I’m knocked out.

Next thing I’m being woken up by the flight attendant telling me to prepare for our landing. I look out my window and see the huge blue ocean and all of Australia.

After I make my way through customs and baggage claim I find a guy in a suit holding a sign that says “E. Sonnett” on it. I walk over and introduce myself.

“Well, hey Emily. I’m John. Sydney FC sent for me to drive you to where you’ll be staying while here.” He said with his Australian accent.

John and I make our way to the car and he puts my bag in the back. The drive to my apartment was one of the best things I’ve ever experienced. It was so cool to see the new country that I’ve never been to.

When we finally arrive he helps me unpack my things. After I make it inside my apartment he leaves and I’m left to explore on my own. I enter the apartment, which is really a house, and look around. It has a huge kitchen, a nice living area and two bedrooms on the first floor and then a huge master bedroom, bathroom and walk in closet on the upper floor. It also has a balcony connected to the bedroom which you can see the ocean from.

I go outside to explore and notice I even have my own hot tub and some nice grass to dribble a ball around on. I decide I can’t be the only one seeing this, so I FaceTime Lindsey.

“Well hello there mate.” Lindsey answers as her face pops up on screen.

“Wow, you’re the only one to call me mate so far.” I laugh back.

“How was the flight? Did you make it to your apartment safely?”

“I basically slept the whole flight, you know me, I can fall asleep anywhere. I’m currently standing in my apartment, and let me tell you this is no apartment. This is a whole house to myself.”

“Well let me see!!” Lindsey exclaims.

I walk all through the house showing Lindsey each room and all of the space that I have.

“Wow they have you set up like royalty over there.”

“Yeah they do, I guess I have to play really well to make it worth it for them.”

“I know you will Sonnett.”

“Well I think I’m gonna go and start to unpack my things. It was nice talking to you for a little Linds. Wish you could be here with me right now. Miss you!”

“Miss you too Sonny!”

I hang up with Lindsey and start to unpack all of my things. That night I go to bed exhausted from unpacking and the jet lag.

The next morning I wake up and walk outside on my balcony. I breathe in the fresh sea air. I think I could get used to this. I go down to my kitchen and make myself some breakfast. After breakfast I get dressed and head to the stadium, to meet my team and coaching staff.

When I get there I’m welcomed with open arms by all of my teammates. They all quickly jump on my accent, saying they never grow tired of hearing how Americans say things. After I go and have a meeting with the coaching staff about how they want to use me and the part they want me to play.

After I leave the coach’s office I head to the locker room to pick up some things. I was expecting it to be empty but there was one lone girl in there. When she sees me she stands up and comes over to me.

“Hey! I’m Caitlin. You’re the American, right?”

“Oh is that my nickname around here?” I ask jokingly.

“Well is it inaccurate?”

“No. Most people call me Emily though.”

“Emily. I like it. But anyway, wanna go see a little bit of Australia?”

“Sure.” I say reluctantly because I barely know this girl.

*Lindsey’s POV*

It’s been about two weeks since Emily left. We’ve texted at least once a day and have FaceTimed a few times, but it’s not the same without her here. 

When cooking dinner I get a text from Tobin.

Tobin: “Hey, was wondering if you’d wanna come over tomorrow morning and watch Emily in her first game? Don’t want you being alone if it’ll be hard to watch.”

Me: “Sure, sounds fun. See you tomorrow morning.”

Ever since the night of winning the championship Tobin has really been watching over me. It’s nice to have someone here still, especially someone who knows how hard things have been on me.

The next morning I wake up and head over to Tobin’s house. I’m greeted by her and Christen, of course. I get inside and we head to their living room, all of us plopping down on the couches. 

“So Lindsey, you haven’t talked about it much. How did things go before Emily left?” Christen asks me.

“Good. She was scared she upset me by leaving and she was understanding that I was upset because of how abrupt it was. She was also really forgiving for all of the awful things I said. I’m really lucky to have her as my best friend.”

“That’s good. Well just remember that we’ll both be here for pretty much the whole time while she’s gone.” Tobin says.

“Yeah, and it’s Tobin’s turn to open up her house to friends now.” Christen adds, smiling at Tobin.

After Christen says that, the game starts. We all watch intently and get excited every time Sonnett gets a touch. Being honest, it is extremely weird to be watching her play through a TV, as opposed to in person.

Their opponents scored early in the game and held a 2-0 lead going into halftime. I could only imagine the things Emily was thinking and talking to her teammates in the locker room.

The second half of the match begins and it is relatively uneventful, until the 80th minute when one of Emily’s teammates gets fouled inside the box. They decided to call Emily to take it.

“What is she doing? She never takes PK’s in games!” I say with a look of surprise on my face.

“Come on, Em. Just like we practice.” Tobin blurts out.

I’m sitting on the edge of my seat now. She sets the ball down, waits for the referee’s whistle and strikes the ball perfectly into the back of the net.

“Yeah Son!” I yell well jumping in the air.

“Someone’s a little excited for their girl.” Christen remarks.

“Of course I am. I only want to see her succeed.”

Emily’s team ends up losing 3-1. I decide to text her some words of encouragement.

Me: “Hey Sonnett, great game! Sorry about the result, but you guys look like there’s some serious potential. Also, where were you hiding your PK skills? :)”

She answers a little while later.

Emily: “Thanks so much for watching, Linds. Guess there’s a lot I have to show you when I come back :)”

What in the world could she mean by that?

Tobin, Christen and I decide to go out for lunch after the game is over.

“So Linds, what’s your plan?” Tobin asks.

“For what?” I ask, confused.

“For when Emily returns, of course.”

“Oh, I guess I wasn’t thinking of having much of a plan.”

“Come on, Linds. We can’t be the only ones who know how deeply you feel about Emily. You were going to tell her, but your plans go knocked a little off course. Time to make a plan b.” Christen says.

“You’re both right. I guess I should plan on telling her when she gets back.”

Time to start operation: get my girl.


	17. Who's That?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily arrives back home.

*Lindsey’s POV*

I wake up this morning with a smile beaming across my face. My best friend is coming home today. And I’m telling her how I feel about her today.

I get out of bed, shower, straighten my hair and get dressed in a slightly nicer outfit. I put on some black jeans, a white t-shirt, a flannel and a jean jacket. I go out to the living room to track Sonnett’s flight to make sure it’s getting in on time.

After confirming the flight time I text Tobin.

Me: “Everything going good on your end?”

Tobin responded with a picture of the picnic scene they have all set up, waiting for me and Sonnett.

I decide to leave a little early so I can stop by the store and get some flowers to surprise Sonny with. I also make a sign that says “E. Sonnett” on it to make her laugh.

When I enter the airport I park myself in the perfect spot where I can see her grabbing her bags. I having butterflies flying all through my stomach right now, but I’m also calm because I’m finally getting exactly what I wanted. Or at least I thought.

I spot Sonnett. And, wait? Who is that next to her? Why is she holding her hand? They start walking towards me and I immediately ditch the bouquet of flowers. Sonnett walks up to me with a beaming smile while holding the other girl’s hand.

She quickly lets go of her hand and runs and jumps into my arms.

“Lindsey!!” She screams so loud that we have the whole airport’s attention now.

I set her down and direct my eyes towards the girl that walked up with her.

“Oh so sorry, Lindsey this is my girlfriend, Caitlin. Caitlin, this is Lindsey my best friend and your new teammate.” Emily says to the both of us.

I’m going crazy inside. Girlfriend? Teammate? What is going on?

“Teammate?” I ask.

“Yeah, we met on the Sydney team and I convinced her to come and play here on the Thorns with us! How awesome is that?”

“Oh wow, cool. Welcome to the team I say to her.”

We head out of the airport to my car. There’s no way I can follow through with my plans now. I send Tobin a text.

Me: “Plans are off. You and Christen enjoy the picnic. Will explain later.”

Tobin: “Linds, what are you talking about?”

Me: “Talk later.”

I ask Sonnett and Caitlin if both of them are hungry and if they’d wanna stop and get lunch somewhere. Of course Sonny agrees to getting food, so we drag Caitlin along for the ride.

We arrive at the restaurant and sit at our table. Emily and Caitlin sit on one side while I sit opposite of them. 

“So, Caitlin. What made you want to come to America?” I ask to break the awkward silence.

“Well the world’s greatest salesman is right here.” She says kissing Emily on the cheek. Barf. “And I also just wanted to see what other football opportunities I could get.”

“What position do you play?”

“Forward. I attribute my relationship with Emily to the fact that we constantly had to be near each other on the field when we scrimmaged each other.”

Okay I’m tired of this girl. It’s bad enough she’s dating Sonnett but she’s obnoxious about it. I’m done getting to know her.

“So, Linds what did I miss around here?” Son asks.

“Oh not much really. Tobin, Christen and I spent a lot of time together training and stuff.”

“Oh man I can’t wait to see all the work The Great Horan has put in during the off-season.”

We both laugh at the ridiculous nickname that Emily and Rose gave me. Caitlin doesn’t find it funny, which oddly makes me happy.

We all finish up our lunch and get in my car.

“Caitlin, where are you staying?” I ask to see where I’d be dropping her off at.

“With Emily.” She responds almost as if it’s obvious. I glance over at Sonnett.

“Yeah I figured she’d just stay with me before she finds her own place…or permanently.”

I drive them to Emily’s apartment and help them take their bags upstairs. I decide that they’re probably super jet lagged and I don’t really want to spend any more time around Caitlin so I let them settle back in. 

“Bye Sonny!” I yell as I leave their apartment.

“Bye The Great!” Emily responds.

I text Tobin to let her know I’m coming over to tell her all about the afternoon I just had. 

*Emily’s POV*

“Ahhhhh it’s so good to be home.” I say as I fall backwards onto my bed.

Caitlin joins me and I give her a quick peck on the lips.

“Welcome home.” I say to her smiling.

We spend the whole rest of the day unpacking the both of us and getting Caitlin settled into her new home. 

After we get all unpacked I decide to take Caitlin out to dinner and show her around Portland, just like she showed me around Sydney. I notice that for much of the outing she’s quiet. I figure it’s just because she’s tired.

When we get back to our apartment we both grab some beer and go sit on my balcony.

“Are you doing okay?” I ask her concerned.

“Yeah I’m alright.” She responds.

“Well you’ve been pretty quiet today and that’s not like the girl I met 5 months ago.”

“I don’t know. I’ve just had a lot on my mind.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it. It’s only going to upset you.”

“Try me. It’s going to upset me if you don’t talk about it. You can tell me anything. Now what’s up, babe?”

“I don’t like your friend Lindsey.”

“What? You only met her for like 3 hours!”

“She rubs me the wrong way.”

“By doing what?”

“You’re both too lovey-dovey with each other. As your girlfriend I don’t appreciate that.”

“She’s my best friend! It’s all platonic. In America it’s normal for girl best friends to act like they’re dating when they’re really not. It’s a hard concept to explain.” 

I haven’t told her about the history between me and Lindsey. There’s no way she’d stay with me after that one. And I really like Caitlin, I don’t want to lose her over what’s in the past.

“When I called you the American and you introduced yourself as Emily, why didn’t you introduce yourself as Sonnett? Cause all I heard from Lindsey today was ‘oh Sonnett, yeah Sonny, omg Son.’”

“Because only the people closest to me call me by my last name.”

“And I’m not close enough to you?”

“Babe, that’s not what I meant. When I told you to call me Emily we were complete strangers from different sides of the world. Sonnett is all yours now.”

“Then tell Lindsey to call you Emily.”

“But Cait—“

“No, Emily. I’m not sharing your special nickname with anyone else. And in fact, stop calling her that stupid nickname. What is it? The Great Horan? Yeah, that ends now too.”

“I don’t think you’re being very fair.”

“Well I don’t think you’re being a very good girlfriend to me when you’re acting like you’re dating your best friend.”

“What did you think life was gonna be like when we got here? That you wouldn’t have to adjust to all of the people in my life? May I remind you, you’re the odd one out here. I’m going to try my best to get you acquainted with life here but you have to meet me halfway.”

“As long as you do what I’ve requested then I’ll try for you.”

“Fine, it’s a deal. Now can we please stop fighting? I finally get to have my beautiful girlfriend in my home and I don’t wanna ruin it with a stupid fight.”

“I didn’t get to see much of the bedroom earlier. Wanna show me around in there a little more?” Caitlin says winking at me.

We both head into the bedroom to enjoy the rest of the night. As I turn around to shut the sliding door I can’t help but pause for a moment.

What am I getting myself into between Caitlin and Lindsey?


	18. The Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Lindsey miss each other.

*Lindsey’s POV*

It’s been almost two weeks since Sonnett has been back from Australia but we haven’t hung out much. She’s been too fixated with getting Caitlin adjusted to do anything with me. It honestly feels like she never even really came back.

I enter the locker room before our morning practice and go take a seat at my locker. Guess who’s my locker neighbor. That’s right, you guess it. None other than Caitlin. As I start to put my socks I see Sonnett walking over to us.

“Hey Sonnett, long time no see.” I say smiling at her.

“Er—“ she says glancing at Caitlin. “Hi Lindsey.”

“What’s up Sonny?” Caitlin blurts out. I give her a look. Since when is she calling her Sonny.

“Hey babe, one of your socks got mixed in with mine. Here you go.”

Before I can say anything else to her she’s already turned and walked away. 

We take the field and start practice. I was expecting, more like hoping, Caitlin to not be that good, but she turns out to be very skilled. I just have to learn how to work with her as teammates.

After practice ends we all head into the locker room. I notice that Sonnett is at her locker and Caitlin is still in the shower. I walk over to Emily to talk to her about what’s been going on.

“Hey Sonny, it feels like we haven’t talked in forever. You been alright?”

“Yeah, Lindsey. I just have been busy showing Caitlin around the city.” She responds quietly.

“Yeah I get that. But I was wondering if you wanted to grab dinner with me tonight?”

“Sorry I can’t. Caitlin and I already have plans. Oh, and while I’m thinking about if, can you do me a favor and just call me Emily?”

“But you’re my Sonnett and I’m you’re Great Horan.”

“No, Lindsey. I’m Emily and you’re Lindsey and that’s what we call each other.”

I don’t have any response to Sonnett, or I guess I mean Emily. I walk away dejected feeling more distant from my best friend who’s in the same room as me than when she was halfway across the world.

As I walk to my car I hear a familiar voice call my name. I turn around to see Tobin.

“Hey you left looking pretty upset. Care to talk about it?”

“Please Tobin, let’s go grab some food.”

We drive down the street to a small taco place and sit down and talk. 

“It’s just that the past two weeks Emily has been more distant from me than she was the past five months. I feel like things are back to how they were after she disappeared back home to Georgia. She even told me today to stop calling her Sonnett. I don’t know what I did Tobin.”

“Well, Linds. I have some good news and some bad news for you. Which do you want first?”

“Good. No, bad. Oh I don’t care just tell me.”

“Well, good news is I don’t think you did anything. Bad news is this means you just have to wait it out and be patient.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that Emily has no problem with you. I think the problem is with Caitlin. We both know Emily, she’s feisty but she also can sometimes be manipulated. And from what I’ve seen, Caitlin has her wrapped around her finger.”

“So what do I do now?”  
“Probably one of the hardest things there is to do; nothing. I know Emily will realize that she’s being controlled by Caitlin and she’ll come to her senses. For now you just have to hang in there and hope that she realizes it soon.”

“I know you’re right. I hate that you are about this, but you are.”

*Emily’s POV*

Caitlin and I arrive to the fancy restaurant that I made reservations at to celebrate our 6 month anniversary and the one month of Caitlin moving to America.

We sit down at the table and the waiter pours us some champagne. 

“To six months with my beautiful girlfriend and one month of having her with me in my home.” I say raising my glass to clink with Caitlin.

“Sonny the past six months have been so amazing. I never thought I’d find someone like you. You do absolutely anything for me.”

I’m not sure how to take the end of her toast. She said it in a way that makes me sound like a fool for doing anything for her. I choose to ignore the comment for now.

As we sit there we start talking about the future.

“So, Sonnett I was thinking, we really should move. If we want to progress this relationship further we should get some more space so we can start growing. Ya know, maybe get a puppy and then eventually we’ll get you treatment to get pregnant.” Caitlin says to me.

I’m completely shocked. We’ve only been together 6 months, how is she thinking about all of this?

“Um, Caitlin I think our apartment is a good size for us right now. We both travel too much for a dog. And why would I have to be the one to get pregnant?”

“Well from the way things look I just see myself having a longer soccer career than you.”

“Caitlin! How dare you say that.”

“I’m sorry babe I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant more like US Soccer is so good, you have less of a chance of making your national team than I do.”

“Well I’m nowhere near ready to have kids Caitlin.”

“That’s okay, we can compromise. Something I hope you are ready for though is to get rid of your car.”

“But I love my car!”

“I know you do, but we just need something a little more, how do you say, professional? We’re both professional athletes. We should have a nicer car than that.”

“Just because we’re professional athletes doesn’t mean we automatically turn into people who flash their money around. Mind you, we’re female athletes as well who don’t make nearly as much money as the men.”

“But Son, what happened to you doing anything for me?”

“Caitlin I have done so much for you. I’ve gotten you a great opportunity to play here in America. I’ve given you a home here. I gave up my best friend for you. But this is my life, and I’m not throwing away everything that makes me happy.”

Just then our food arrives.

“This conversation isn’t over.”

We eat the rest of our dinner in silence. When we get home she locks me out of the bedroom, forcing me to sleep on the couch for the night. When I’m laying there I really need to talk to someone.

Me: “Hey, any chance you’re awake?”

Lindsey: “Yeah I am. Is everything okay?”

Me: “Not really, but I can’t talk now. Can I come over tomorrow night?”

Lindsey: “Of course.”

The next morning Caitlin comes out of the bedroom.

“Good morning Sonnett. I’m really sorry about last night. I know I shouldn’t have tried to spring all of that on you.”

“It’s okay. We both weren’t hearing each other.” I say, still fully planning on carrying out my plans for tonight.

We spend the rest of the day hanging around the apartment. Finally the time for me to leave comes.

“Hey babe, I’m gonna head to the public park and get a workout in.” I tell Caitlin.

“Okay. Don’t be too late.”

I get in my car and drive straight to Lindsey’s.

“Hey Em!” She says opening the door, smiling.

“Hey Linds.” I say as I enter the apartment.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just wanted to have a good old best friend night if you’re up for it.”

“Of course I’m up for it.”

We settle down on the couch watching reruns of Friends. I’ve missed sitting here just laughing with Lindsey. Time really does get away from me as we’re enjoying the time together. I check my phone. 1 text from Caitlin.

Caitlin: “Hey are you gonna be home soon? Where are you?”

Me: “Sorry, Lindsey had an emergency and I had to help her. I’ll be home soon.”

Caitlin: “You’re with Lindsey?”

Me: “Yeah, she needed me.”

Caitlin: “I’m only gonna say this once; if you’re not home within the next hour I won’t be here in the morning.”

I turn my phone off and slide it back into my pocket.

*Lindsey’s POV*

Last night was such a great night. Emily and I haven’t had a sleepover since before she left for Australia. I was starting to forget how just sitting in a room with her brings me so much joy.

After I get out of the shower I notice that I have a text.

Emily: “Caitlin’s gone. Can you please come over?”

I immediately hop into my car and drive to Emily’s. I knock on the door and am greeted by a tearful Sonnett.

When I get inside she immediately wraps me in a hug and buries her face into my shoulder. I stand there holding her while I calm her down enough to tell me what happened.

We got sit on the couch and out of nowhere Emily explodes.

“Linds I am so sorry for how I treated you. You’re my best friend and you didn’t deserve any of it. I was so caught up in Caitlin that I lost sight of how much of friendship means to me. She’s the reason I told you to stop calling me Sonnett and why I haven’t called you The Great. Then two days ago she was trying to get me to sell my car to get a fancier one and move into a house with her and get a puppy and get pregnant. She told me she’s gonna have a longer soccer career than me. Then last night I lied and told her I went to the park to workout when I really came to see you. She told me if I didn’t leave then she wouldn’t be here in the morning. I didn’t think she’d actually leave but now she’s gone.”

Emily buries her head into her hands. It hurts my heart so much to see her like this. I’ve never seen her cry before. I can’t believe Caitlin did this to her.

“Sonny come here.” I say as I wrap her in another hug. “You don’t have to apologize to me for anything. I know what it’s like to be trapped in a bad relationship. Remember Russell? But it’s okay. You’re out of it and now you can get back to being the amazing Emily you were before.”

“So you’re not mad at me?” She says with tears in her eyes.

“I could never be mad at you.” I say reassuringly.

But you know who I’m furious at? Caitlin.


	19. Concussed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily gets injured.

*Lindsey’s POV*

It’s been a few months now since Emily and Caitlin broke up. Fortunately Sonnett got over Caitlin relatively quickly and we’ve resumed being best friends again. Caitlin and I haven’t quite reconciled yet, but we’ve learned how to play together.

We arrive at the stadium for our game against Sky Blue. When we get into the locker room someone turns on the music and Sonnett starts dancing around. I can’t help but watch as she hops all around the room laughing and dancing. I really missed the silly side to her.

We take the field and soon the game is ready to begin. It was a physical game from the start, but it never seemed out of hand. We had a free kick from around midfield so a bunch of us stood outside of the Sky Blue box, waiting to attack the goal. 

The ball is played over my head and I turn to see Sonnett going for the ball. I watch as her face makes immediate contact with the goalie’s fists. I watch as Sonnett’s body falls limply to the grass. I immediately run over to her.

“Sonnett are you okay?” I say placing a hand on her shoulder. No response.

Soon the medical team is out on the field examining her. Tobin tries to pull me away from the scene but there’s no way I’m leaving Emily’s side. Eventually they get Sonnett to respond and help her off the field and straight into the locker room.

As we go to the locker room for halftime I head straight to the training room to check on Sonnett. As I enter the room I see her throwing up into a trash can. 

“What’s wrong with her?” I yell.

“Lindsey. My head.” Sonnett lets out.

“Lindsey, she’s going to be okay, just nauseous from the pain in her head. Now go rejoin the team.” The medic directs me.

As we retake the field the last thing I’m focused on is playing right now. All I want to do is go in that training room and hold Emily’s hair back and hold her hand and tell her everything is going to be okay. 

About 10 minutes into the half I hear the ambulance pull into the stadium. I immediately know that it’s for Sonnett. 

We end up winning the match 2-1. I don’t stay on the field to celebrate after because I just want to find out how Emily is. 

When I get to the locker room I find our personnel. They tell me which hospital Sonnett was taken to. I grab my stuff and drive as fast as I can.

When I arrive I walk up to the desk and ask about Emily. The receptionist told me that I can’t see her until after they are done running tests. I take a seat in the waiting room.

I bury my head in my hands and start praying that she’s going to be okay. Some time passes before I hear my name. I look up to see Tobin and a few of our other teammates.

“Have you heard anything?” Tobin asks sitting down next to me.

“No, they’re still running tests on her.”

We all sit in the waiting room anxiously awaiting news about Emily.

Soon a doctor comes out. “Family and friends of Emily Sonnett.”

Everyone gives me a look. “Yes, that’s me.”

“Ah, yes. Emily suffered a pretty serious head injury. Our tests have come back clear of any brain bleeds or skull fractures which is great news. So it looks like your friend just has a very severe concussion and a few stitches on her forehead.”

I’m relieved by his words. “Can I see her?”

“Sure. All you ladies can go see her. Just make sure to be quiet. Rest is important to her recovery.”

Tobin, my teammates and I head to Emily’s room. When we arrive at her door I open it to see her lying there sleeping. She looks so peaceful, but I also notice a worried look across her face.

We all enter the room and take our places surrounding her bed. Everyone takes their turns saying hi to her to let her know that they’re there. We all stay in the room, having small quiet conversation.

“Hey, ladies. I’m sorry to break this up but unfortunately it’s past visiting hours. Only one of you can stay with her for the next hour.”

Everyone agrees that I should be the one to stay. I watch as everyone leaves and then I pull up a chair next to Sonnett. I grab her hand and look at her lying there.

“Dude, your face got smashed tonight.” I say to Sonnett quietly while laughing. Her eyes don’t flutter at all.

“If it weren’t for how bad it was I’d be mad at you for worrying me so much. Ya know, Em, as I watched you lay on the grass unresponsive I felt as though my whole life was flashing before me. I was scared that I was going to lose you, or at least a part of you. So I decided I’m done being scared. Emily. I love you. More than just my best friend. I love your blonde hair and your blue-green eyes. I love your silly dances and your wild jokes. I love your soft smiles. I love how passionate you are. I love how you always manage to take care of me. I just love every bit of you. And I’m sorry for not seeing it two years ago, when you told me how you felt about me. I wasn’t ready at the time, and now I’m scared that my opportunity has passed. If you can’t hear me, well then I’ll spend the rest of our friendship making sure you know how loved you are and that nothing bad happens to you again. If you can hear me, then yikes this is awkward. But all of it is true, I love you so much Em it hurts. It hurt when you left for Australia, and when you returned with Caitlin. But nothing hurts as much as me wanting to be able to take care of you and not being able to.”

“Um, excuse me. I’m sorry but visiting hours are up. You can come back tomorrow morning.” A nurse says peeking her head in the room.

I get up, give Sonnett a hug and walk out of the room.

*Emily’s POV*

I open my eyes to see Lindsey leaving the room. 

“Woah.” I say out loud to myself.

A few days go by and my teammates all come visit me everyday. They all bring me really good snacks and my favorite sunglasses and hats to block all of the light from my eyes. Finally I’m allowed to go home.

“You ready to go?” Lindsey asks me as she helps me pack all of my stuff up.

“Absolutely.”

They wheel me out of the hospital in a wheelchair and help me get into the front seat of Lindsey’s car. Fortunately they didn’t let me leave until night time because of how bad the sun would hurt my head. Lindsey drives me to my apartment and helps me make it inside.

“Can I get you anything?” She asks me.

“I’m starving. Could you make me some of your world famous avocado toast?”

“Anything for the concussed girl.”

After we finish our dinner I start to yawn.

“I think you should go lay down and get some rest Sonny.”

“Will you help me make sure I don’t get too dizzy?”

“Of course, I’m right here.”

Lindsey helps me make it to my bed and lay down. It feels so good to be in my own bed and not one of those hospital beds.

“You let me know if you need anything, I’ll be right out in the living room.” Lindsey says as she starts to leave the room.

“Linds?”

“Yeah Son?”

“Open the closet and pull out the box on the floor.”

I watch her as she does what I say. She carries the box and sits on the bed with me.

“Now what?” She asks me.

“Open it and take out the envelope on top. Start to read the letter out loud.” I direct her.

“Dear Lindsey, it’s been two months of me being in Australia. Every waking moment that I’m here I wish you could be here with me. I’d love to be able to see you in your cute bikini on the beach or your face light up at the amazing avocado toast. I’m not sure if I will ever get to, but I want to live every moment of this life with you. I still love you so incredibly much, and at this point at convinced I always will. I only hope that one day our hearts will align. Love, Emily.” 

She finishes reading and looks up at me with her mouth open.

“Emily, what is this?”

I sit up slowly to look at Lindsey. “A letter I wrote to you while I was in Australia. And the rest of the box is letters that I’ve written to you since I first met you.”

“Why do you have all of these?”

“Well, my therapist in Georgia advised me to write my feelings down. I was always supposed to either burn or throw away the letters, but I held on to them.”

“Why are you showing me all of this?”

“Well the other night when you thought I was asleep I actually heard everything that you said to me. About how much you love me.” 

“You did?!”

“Every last bit of it. I thought it was beautiful Linds. I’ve never felt so loved before.”

“Well I meant everything I said.”

Lindsey and I sit and look at each other for a minute. Finally it clicked in both of our heads. I lean in to close the gap between her and I.

Finally, our lips meet.


	20. MVP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lindsey wins an award.

*Lindsey’s POV*

I wake up to my alarm and quickly shut it off as to not wake Emily from her slumber. I roll over to face Sonnett and I see her peacefully sleeping. I place a light kiss on her forehead as I slide out of bed.

It’s been about three weeks since her head injury. The stitches in her forehead have mostly healed and she has made a ton of improvement. She can pretty much do everything, except play, like she did before with no issues.

I’m not quite sure what our relationship is. We’re best friends who know we’re head over heels for each other and we kiss a little, but other than that nothing is really defined. I’m just enjoying this new found territory with Emily. 

As I sit down on the couch with my morning coffee Sonnett joins me in the living room.

“Good morning sunshine.” I say to her as she goes to make herself a cup of coffee.

“Today is gonna be a day.” She says with a smile.

“Any why’s that?”

“They told me I could probably start doing some running again today. I don’t think I’ll be back for the end of the season but I should be ready to go with the national team for January camp.”

“That’s so awesome Son! We should celebrate.”

“I have a feeling that’s not the only thing we’re gonna be celebrating.”

“What do you mean?” I ask her looking puzzled.

“Guess you’ll just have to wait and see.” She says plopping down on the couch next to me.

We drive to the stadium for me to practice and Emily to visit the medical staff. When we enter we give each other a quick peck and go our separate ways.

After I finish getting ready for practice I start to go out to the field. 

“Hey, Lindsey.” I hear behind me. I turn and see Caitlin.

“Yeah?” I respond.”

“Take care of Emily. She’s special. Ya know the whole time we were together there was something about her that I could never seem to get; the heart eyes she gets when she looks at you. And no matter what I did to push her away from you, I could never get that same look. She might’ve loved me, but she’s in love with you. Hold onto her heart tight.”

“Wow, thanks Caitlin. I’ll always take care of her. Cause I think I’m in love with her as well.”

“Yeah, believe me we all see the way you two interact. I never had a shot with her. Thanks for still being a good teammate. I hope we can continue to work together.”

“Of course we can. We’re both professionals. Let’s act like it.”

Caitlin and I both walk out onto the field together to start practice. I’m really surprised by the interaction we both had. But, it feels good to not feel any tension towards her and to fully progress our professional relationship.

After practice Mark gathers all of us for a talk. Even Sonnett has joined us out on the field for this. It must be important.

“Ladies, as we all know the season is beginning to wind down. I’m really proud of what we all have accomplished this year and I know we aren’t done accomplishing great things. I have a big announcement to make about a player on our team. We all know this player as someone who is dedicated to her club and team, she has given up so much in order to be in the position that she’s in and we’re all honored to call her a Portland Thorn. I’d like to acknowledge the 2018 NWSL MVP, our very own Ms. Lindsey Horan.”

My eyes go wide at the announcement. I knew that I was in the talk for the award but didn’t think I would actually win it. Mark signals for me to come stand before the team. He hands me an award signifying me being MVP.

“Wow, guys. I just wanna thank you all for all of the support you have given me since I’ve been here in Portland. I’m so proud to be a Thorn and to call you all my teammates. This award wouldn’t be possible without all of you.

One by one the players come over to me to congratulate me and give me a hug. Even Caitlin.

When I get to the locker room I find Sonnett.

“Is this what you meant when you said it’s not the only thing we’d be celebrating?”

“Eh, a little bird might’ve told me that you won MVP.”

I get changed and head home to call my parents to tell them about the award. After I get off of the phone I hear a knock on my door. I open it to no one there. But, there is a box sitting at my feet.

I pick it up and bring it inside. I open it and on top there is a note that states: “Where this tomorrow so we can celebrate the MVP. 6PM.”

I move the note to find an outfit. It’s a pair of blue jeans, a nice sweater, and some booties. What has Sonnett gotten me into?

*Emily’s POV*

I spend the whole day making sure everything is perfect for my first official date with Lindsey. We’re starting with a rooftop dinner and then going to a secret spot I’ve found for dessert, drinks and the sunset.

I get all showered, curl my hair and changed into a nice outfit for the date. Let me tell you, it was hard picking out and outfit for myself to wear, let alone picking out an outfit for Lindsey to wear too.

When I’m done getting ready I hop into the car and drive to a nearby grocery store. I head inside and grab a colorful bouquet of flowers to surprise Lindsey with. When I get to her apartment I head up to her door and knock.

She answers the door. I’m stunned by her beauty I almost forget to greet her.

“For the cute girl standing in front of me.” I say handing her the flowers.

“Awe, Sonny these are perfect.” She says giving me a hug.

We get in the car and Lindsey asks me where we’re going. I tell her not to worry about it and that this night is about celebrating her.

We arrive at dinner and head up to the rooftop. Lindsey and I walk over to the edge and take a peek at the view. 

“Wow, Em. I can’t believe we’re here having dinner right now.”

“I can’t believe I’m here having dinner at the most beautiful place in Portland with the most beautiful girl in the world.”

“Smooth.” She says giving me a smirk.

We sit down and the waiter pours us both a glass of wine. 

“To my MVP.” I say clinking glasses with Lindsey.

“Oh I’m not the only thing we’re celebrating. My girl can finally run again!” Lindsey exclaims.

We spend dinner enjoying the great food and talking about how amazing life is right now.

“You wanna come back to my apartment for drinks?” Lindsey suggests.

“Oh no, this night isn’t over yet.” I respond, offering my hand to Lindsey to walk her back to my car.

“Son, where are we going now?”

“Just enjoy the sites, Linds.”

We finally arrive at my secret spot. I help Lindsey out of the car, grab the picnic basket I had in the back of the car and starting leading Lindsey down the overgrown path.

“I don’t think we should be here Emily.”

“This is exactly where we’re supposed to be.” I say as we make our way through the trees and enter an opening, revealing the view of the sun setting.

We set a blanket down in front of a tree for us to lean on and take out our desserts and drinks.

“Wow, I can’t believe you’ve planned this whole night just for me Em.”

“This was nothing. I plan on taking care of you for the rest of time.”

Lindsey leans her head on my shoulder.

“Lindsey, your outfit is missing something.”

“It is?”

I dig down to the bottom of the picnic basket and pull out a jewelry box and hand it to Lindsey.

“Oh my gosh Sonny. Are those the Colorado mountains?” She asks as she pulls out the necklace.

“You bet. I know how much you love your home. It’s time you have something to honor it with.”

“Thank you so much.” She says as I put it on her neck.

“Linds, the past few weeks have been the happiest I’ve ever been. You took care of me when I was at my worst and have held my hand through the whole thing. I was wondering, would you like to officially be my girlfriend?”

“Wow, I never thought you’d ask Emily. But, there’s just one thing—“

“What’s that?” I ask concerned.

“I don’t really know how to do this whole thing. I’ve never dated a girl before. I don’t know how to be the girlfriend you need.”

“Lindsey, yes you do. You’ve been that person for me ever since we became friends.”

“But what about the, ya know, the more intimate moments?”

“Don’t worry about those. When we’re ready we’ll figure it out together. Same team, remember?”

“Same team. Girlfriend.” She says smiling at me.

We share a huge kiss as the sunsets in front of us. 

I pull out my phone to take a picture of us.

“What are you doing Sonnett?”

“Documenting the first day of the rest of our lives.”


	21. Telling People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Lindsey spend New Years Eve together.

*Emily’s POV*

This year the offseason has been the hardest part of the year. I’m happy to be home with my family for the holidays, but I’m really missing Lindsey. We decided to spend the holidays apart because Lindsey is not ready to come out to her family and I’m respecting that.

One night Emma and I stay up really late watching movies together.

“Hey Em, your head seems like it’s some place else, what’s up?” She asks me.

“Okay, I’m gonna tell you something. But you have to promise not to tell anyone, especially mom and dad.”

“Ooh I love a sister secret.”

“So, Lindsey and I are officially dating. And we decided to spend the holidays apart because she’s not ready to come out to her family yet.”

“Aweeee Emmy has a girlfriend!!”

“SHHHHHH!” I yell at Emma.

“Sorry! I’m just so excited for you. Well, give me all the details.”

“Well, we spent about three weeks practically dating just without a title. So after she won MVP I took her out to a fancy dinner and to a secret spot in Portland to watch the sunset. Then I gave her a necklace with the Colorado mountains on it and asked her to be my girlfriend.”

“That’s adorable Em. I’m so happy for the both of you. You guys both deserve the best.”

“Thanks Emma. I just miss her so much right now.”

“I bet. But aren’t you guys doing something for New Years? That’s only two week away!”

“I know. It’s just crazy. I’ve never had anyone who I crave to be around so much before.”

“Love is a wild thing.”

I go to bed that night feeling a little better. I’m really glad I have Emma to tell about this. I haven’t told mom and dad yet. I don’t think they’ll disapprove. It’s just not a conversation I’m ready to have.

New Years Eve finally arrives and I fly to Santa Barbara a few days early for our first training of 2019. I meet Lindsey, Mal and Rose to celebrate the New Year together.

We all had originally planned to go out to a club, but quickly remembered that Mal won’t be 21 until April. We decide to just have a girls night in with plenty of drinks and snacks.

Lindsey and I reunite in the airport before Mal and Rose arrive. When I see her I can’t help but run into her arms and give her a big kiss. 

“I’ve missed you so much Sonny.” She says wrapping me in her arms.

“I’ve missed you so much too! And I have to tell you, I told Emma about you and I. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No I don’t care! I trust Emma and I’m really happy your sister is so supportive of you.”

“Us, Linds. She’s so supportive of us.”

A little while later we hear Mal and Rose before we actually see them. They come running up to us and jumping into our arms, nearly knocking us over.

“Jeez these Washington girls are crazy.” I remark.

“I’m just so happy to see my sister Lindsey.” Says Mal.

“I heard Santa Barbara has some really good dog parks.” Rose mentions.

We order and Uber and make our way to our hotel. We got two rooms next to each other with two queen beds in each, even though I imagine Lindsey and I will be sharing a bed.

Mal and Rose stay back at the hotel to order food while Lindsey and I are on alcohol duty. We head to a grocery store a few blocks away from the hotel. We grab some beer, some Smirnoff ices and a few bottles of champagne.

“Are we gonna get in trouble for giving Mal alcohol?” Lindsey asks me while waiting in the checkout line.

“Only if we tell people.” I say.

We get back to the hotel and our food has already arrived. Rose wastes no time and already cracks open a beer. I decide to join her party.

“So, Emily. How’s your head been since you got punched?”

“Oh I’ve been completely fine for the past month now. It was brutal in the beginning. I’ve never had such bad headaches. I was throwing up everyday, I couldn’t keep my eyes open for a few minutes at a time without getting extremely dizzy. I practically lived in sunglasses for a week to protect me from the light. I don’t know how I would’ve survived if it weren’t of Lindsey.” I say smiling at her.

“I’m really glad you’re all better. I couldn’t imagine you not being here. We need the core group with us at the World Cup this summer.”

We finish up our dinner and decide to play some drinking games to waste the time until the New Years Eve show started. Rose and I beat Lindsey and Mal in three straight games of beer pong.

“Ha! This is why you go and graduate college!” Rose yells as she high fives me.

Lindsey and Mal just look at each other and roll their eyes.

“Guys! The ball drops in 30 minutes!” Lindsey exclaims.

We all huddle around the hotel room TV and watch as thousands of people celebrate in Times Square. 

“I want us to celebrate there someday.” Lindsey whispers into my ear.

I smile at the thought of kissing her under all the bright lights of Times Square.

“3…2…1! Happy New Year!” We all yell simultaneously.

We all embrace each other in hugs to celebrate making it to 2019. Lindsey and I slip away into the other room to embrace each other.

“Happy New Year babe.” I say as I lay a kiss on her.

“Either I’m really drunk or you guys are really gay.” I hear Mal say.

I pull away from the kiss to see Mal standing in the doorway with her mouth hanging open.

“Mal! It’s not what it looks like!” Lindsey exclaims.

“Well it sure looked like you guys were kissing each other.” Mal says.

“What?!” I hear Rose yell from the other room.

The four of us reconvene back into one room together.

“Okay guys, we’re gonna tell you something but you guys can’t tell a soul. We weren’t planning on telling anyone until we could tell the whole team. Lindsey and I are dating.”

“Woah, since when?” Mal asks.

“For about 2 and a half months.” Lindsey answers.”

“Wow. Well I’m really happy for you guys!” Says Rose hugging the both of us.

“Yeah I’m really happy for the both of you too. Just next time could you maybe not have so much PDA in front of me?” Jokes Mal.

“Sorry little sister.” Lindsey says hugging Mal.

Soon after we tell them we all keep drinking. It feels good to be able to be our true selves with our friends.

A little while later little Mal and sweet baby Rose are passed out in bed. Lindsey and I both tuck in the younger girls and have water, Gatorade, Advil, some saltines, and a trash can sitting on the bed side table between their beds.

Lindsey and I both go back into our room and get ready for bed. Since Rose and Mal know about us we lay down in one bed together. Lindsey wraps her arms around me and our legs are intertwined.

“Hey Son, you know who we really have to tell this camp?”

“Jill?”

“Unfortunately yes.”

“You don’t think our relationship will affect either of our spots on the team, do you?”

“I don’t think so. Although, Ali isn’t on the team anymore and I’m not sure if that has anything to do with her and Ashlyn.”

“Well, whatever happens happens. We’re dating and that’s it.” I reassure her.

I am slightly worried about how that conversation will go though.

The next morning Lindsey and I are woken up to Mal yelling our names. We both get out of bed and run into their room.

“What’s wrong?” Lindsey asks.

“I feel like death.”

“Yes, welcome to the negative side effects of alcohol, fetus.” I say to her laughing.

“Shhhh, you guys are being too loud.” Says Rose covering her head with her pillow.

“Mal, all you need is some water, food, and a shower and you’ll be feeling brand new.” Lindsey tells her.

“And you also need to pull yourself together before the rest of the team arrives tonight.” I remind her.

“Ughhhhhh” is all she lets out.

Lindsey and I go grab lunch for ourselves and the two little hungover ones back at the hotel. When we get back they’re both showered and ready to eat. After they eat they both feel and look like brand new. We decide to go grab some coffee to really make them look alive.

“You guys are dating right? Like I didn’t just imagine that last night?” Ask Mal confused.

“No, you didn’t imagine anything.” Says Lindsey kissing me on the cheek.

After enjoying our coffee we head back to the hotel and sit in the lobby area waiting on the arrival of the rest of the team. They all arrive and we immediately head to our welcome meeting.

After addressing some main topics ,Jill calls Dawn up to the front to tell us our room assignments. I get roomed with Kelley, while Lindsey is with Tobin.

Kelley and I lock arms and make our way to our room.

“You sure seem happy Sonnett.” Kelley remarks.

“Well how could I not be? I have Miss. Kelley as my roommate.”

“What’s up with you Emily? Your eyes tell me you’ve got someone on your mind.”

“Yeah there might be someone.”

“Ooh who is it?” She says while trying to tickle it out of me.

“Fine fine I’ll tell you! It’s Lindsey.”

“As in Horan?”

“That’s the one.”

“Awe, I’m so happy for you guys. We totally have to double date!!”

After we’re done unpacking we head down to our team dinner. Lindsey comes walking up to me.

“Tobin knows.” She whispers in my ear.

“Good, cause Kelley tickled it out of me.” I whisper back to her.

After dinner Lindsey and I decide to get over telling Jill. We meet in the hall and walk to her room. I knock on the door.

“Well hello Emily and Lindsey. Is everything okay?” Jill asks letting us in the room.

“Everything is great coach. We just wanted to talk to you about something really quickly.” Lindsey says.

We take a seat in the chairs as she sits on the edge of her bed.

“So, coach, we just wanted to tell you that Lindsey and I have began a romantic relationship. It’s been going on for about 2 and a half months. We hope that you can trust us to separate our relationship and our job.”

“Wow. Well, girls thank you for coming and telling me. I trust that you will remain professional enough to not let this affect your play. But, if it does then the three of us may have to have another type of conversation.”

“We understand, coach.” Lindsey and I say in unison.

“That was the coach in me speaking. This is now the human in me. I’m really happy for the both of you. I met my wife through this game and I’ve never been happier because of her. I hope you two find the same happiness in each other.”

“Thank you so much.” We both hug her as we get up and exit her room.

“Well that went a lot better than I expected.” Lindsey says once we are outside of her room.

“I know. Wanna just bite the other bullet and tell the rest of the team? Half of them practically know anyway.” I propose.

Lindsey and I text our teammates to meet us downstairs for a quick player meeting. Once everyone arrives Lindsey and I stand up in front of the room.

“Hey guys. Thanks for all coming on such short notice. A lot of you already know, but Lindsey and I wanted to tell you all ourselves that her and I are dating. We promise to not let this affect our professional lives and would really appreciate all of your guys’ support.”

The room is quiet.

“Woo go gays!” Megan Rapinoe yells from the back of the room.

All of the girls come up to us one by one and tell us that they’re happy for us and that they support us now matter what.

In the middle of getting hugs from all of my teammates I can’t help but look over and smile at the girls that I’m so incredibly proud to call my girlfriend.


	22. Dream Come True

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Lindsey celebrate the World Cup roster.

*Lindsey’s POV*

I wake up in a panic knowing that today might be the day I find out if I have a spot on the World Cup team or not. Jill told us a few days ago that this would be the week she releases it to us. I feel as though I’ve done really well these past 5 months in camps and friendlies, but you never know.

When I get up I go out to the leaving and make myself some coffee. It’s weird for Sonnett and I to not being spending the night at each other’s apartment, but we decided it was best to have some space because we’re both a little on edge this week.

I flip on the TV and it turns on to ESPN. I get caught up in watching an E:60 about a young kid with cancer who plays soccer. As I’m tearing up at the story I feel my phone buzzing. Jill Ellis.

“Hey Jill.” I pick up nervously.

“Hello Lindsey. How are you doing today?”

“I’m good, coach. How are you?”

“Well these calls are one of my favorite things to do, so I’m really good. Lindsey I wanted to call you and tell you that you’re going to France with us this summer.”

“Oh my gosh. Thank you so much Jill.” I say tearing up.

“It’s my pleasure Lindsey. We’re all impressed with how you’ve done in the camps leading up to this and we all have faith that you are going to play and integral role in getting us on top of that podium this summer.”

“That means a lot. Again, thank you!”

We hang up and I take a moment to myself. I put my head in my hands and just cry out of pure happiness. I feel so honored to be representing my country. And the fact that I’ll be back in France doing so makes this whole thing so much more bittersweet.

I want Emily to be the first to know about me, but I also want to be sensitive if she doesn’t get put on the roster again. She has every reason to be on it, but she never seems to get enough credit.

I decide to text and see if she’s heard anything before I call her and get all excited in case she’s down.

Me: “Hey, any word from Jill yet?”

Emily: “Yes. You?”

Me: “Yes”

Next thing I know she’s calling me.

“Hey Em, you wanna go first?”

“No, you go.”

“Okay. Well, I made it Sonny. I’m going back to France.”

“That’s so awesome Linds! I’m so happy for you!”

“Now on to you.”

“Well, I have some bad news. It looks like you’re gonna have to be annoyed by me in another country cause I made it too!!”

“Oh my gosh Sonnett don’t do that to me!! But I’m so happy for you!!”

“Does this mean we can finally see each other again?”

“Yes since we’re both done being anxiety filled monsters.”

“Perfect. Cause I have a little something for us planned.”

*Emily’s POV*

I go pick Lindsey up at her apartment and of course she gets in the car and immediately asks me where we’re going about a million times.

“Why do you keep making all of these secret plans Sonnett?”

“Well your birthday is coming up so I wanted to do something special. And I like to keep you on your toes.” I say winking to her.

We finally arrive to our destination and Lindsey looks more confused than she has in her whole life.

“Emily where are we?”

“You’ll see.”

Just then a helicopter comes flying in and lands in the distance from us.

“You like our ride for the day?” I ask Lindsey pointing at the helicopter.

“Sonny what did you do?”

Soon the pilot comes and introduces himself to us. He goes over a few safety things and then hands us our headphones so we can go for our ride.

I look over at Lindsey and see she has her eyes completely shut.

“Come on Linds, you aren’t scared of heights, are you?”

“No. But you know I don’t like being by windows and what is this thing? Basically a whole plane of windows.”

“Hey, look at me.” I say taking her hand. “I’m right here. You know I’d never let anything bad happen to you.”

I can feel her body relax as I reassure her that I’ll protect her no matter what.

Soon we’re lifted up in the air. Lindsey and I both sit there, hand in hand, pointing different things out to each other that we see down in Portland. This ride truly is a once in a lifetime experience and I’m so happy to have Lindsey next to me.

Finally our ride comes to an end and we land on top of a building. The pilot helps us out and thanks us for flying with him. 

“So, what now?” Lindsey asks as the helicopter flies away.

“You see that table?” I ask pointing across the rooftop. I grab Lindsey’s hand and walk over to it.

When we get to the table there is a bottle of champagne and a whole meal waiting for us.

“What’s with you and rooftops?” Lindsey asks me.

“I’ll explain later.”

We sit down and enjoy the meal that was impeccably placed before us. Lindsey and I eat quietly, soaking up the moment together. Once we finish I take her hand and direct her over to a ledge. I sit on top of it and throw my legs over, helping Lindsey do the same.

“Sonny, how do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Make every moment the perfect moment.”

“Well, when you have the perfect girl next to you it makes things a lot easier.”

Lindsey and I sit there as we stare out over the city.

“So this is a good time to tell you why I like rooftops so much. Ya know Linds, being with you makes me feel like I’m on top of the world, and I only want to be able to replicate that feeling for you. So I decided to make it literally happen.”

Lindsey looks at me with tears in her eyes smiling.

“And Linds, I plan on spending the rest of forever lifting you up as high as possible. That’s why I have this.” I pull a ring box out of my pocket. “Don’t worry, this isn’t a proposal. But it is a promise ring. With this ring I promise to protect you, guide you, and love you. I promise to create more days like this, because I am constantly reminded that every good moment in my life I want you standing by my side for. I love you, Lindsey Michelle Horan.” I say as I slip the ring onto her finger.

“Wow. I don’t know what to say. You make me happier than I ever thought possible. You give me butterflies by simply just walking into a room. Everything good I have in my life ties back to you. I don’t have the ring at the moment, but I promise to always encourage you, serve you and love you. I love you too, Emily Ann Sonnett.”

We give each other a big kiss, but decide to get down from the ledge before things progress any further. We exit the building and get in my car which Tobin so graciously delivered for us.

“Wanna come back to my apartment?” Lindsey asks me.

“Absolutely. We’re not done celebrating.”

We get to Lindsey’s apartment and as soon as we enter the door Lindsey has me pushed up against the wall. We kiss lightly, and then Lindsey’s tongue finds her way into my mouth to explore. We pull away briefly, staring at each other.

We get into the bedroom and start undressing each other. Lindsey lays down on the bed as I finish taking my pants and underwear off. I climb onto the bed and straddle Lindsey.

“God, you’re my dream come true.” Lindsey says as she pulls me in.


	23. France

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The USWNT travels to France to play in the 2019 World Cup.

*Lindsey’s POV*

“Lindseyyyy. Wake up.” I hear the voice from across the room call.

“Ugh. Do we really have to get up Rose?”

“We do if we don’t wanna be left behind and miss the World Cup.”

Rose and I get dressed in our travel suits, grab our bags and head down to the lobby. Sonnett and I find the coffee machine and fill up our first cups of the day.

The bus ride to the airport is relatively quiet because of how early is it. In fact, Emily lays her head on my shoulder and falls back asleep. Once we arrive at the airport I get the pleasure of waking her back up.

We finally all make it to our gate and we divide and conquer. Some of us go grab coffee, others grab full breakfast meals, while others just wait to board our charter flight.

We get on the plane and Emily and I are seated next to each other. Once the plane takes off we recline our seats all the way and cuddle up next to each other.

“I’m so excited for you to see one of the places I call home.” I whisper in her ear.

When she doesn’t respond I peek my eye open to see a smile spread across her face. We both fall asleep cuddled up together. 

I wake up to laughter. I open my eyes to see Kelley sitting across from us talking to Emily.

“Well good morning, Princess.” Emily says to me.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Most of the flight honestly. I’ve been bored the past 2 hours so I made Kelley come keep me entertained. We’re due to land in like an hour.”

We finally land and as soon as I breathe the French air again all of the memories come flooding back.

We get to our hotel and are all allowed to go to our rooms to clean up and rest before team dinner and meetings.

In the meeting Jill outlines the plan for the days leading up to the Thailand game. We have morning trainings, afternoon recovery sessions and evening meetings to get each player on the same page with the others in their positions. 

Finally game day arrives. When we take the field for warmups I try and soak in every moment. This is a once in a lifetime type of day and I never want to forget it. Finally we walk out of the tunnel for the anthems and we’re all surprised by the atmosphere. So many of our fans have showed up and it honestly feels like a home game.

We get off to an early start with Alex scoring in the 12th minute and it’s just total domination from there. Alex adds 4 more goals, we have 7 players score in total and I even get my first World Cup goal. It felt so amazing to have all of those long trainings pay off and we all celebrated hard.

The next morning we all woke up to news that surprised us. Everyone, even our own country, was mad at us for celebrating. We gathered for a team meeting to check in with how everyone is doing with the criticism. We all go around the room and offer up our opinions and feelings. Ultimately we all decide that in order to win we need to make an impenetrable bubble around us. Sonnett and I decided we were both going to delete social media for the rest of the tournament. 

Finally our next game of the tournament arrives. It’s against Chile, a not really dominant team, so I have high hopes that Sonny will see some minutes this game. Once again we get off to an early start with Carli scoring in the 11th minute. Carli scores once more and Julie manages to score with the back of her head. I’m subbed out in the 59th minute and am hoping that Sonnett’s name will be called soon. Finally I hear Jill call for Emily to warm up. When she runs out onto the field I feel such immense joy for her. She’s worked so hard and I’m so happy to see it pay off.

A few days later we have our next game against Sweden. This one has a different feel to it. We all feel as though it’s a lot more personal than our previous two games. They ended our Olympic run three years ago and we haven’t really gotten the bitter taste out of our mouths. The game starts and we planned to press them early. In the 3rd minute a ball was sent into the box and it ended up at my feet so I finished it into the back of the next. Tobin joined me in scoring, even though it was called an own goal, and we cruised to a 2-0 victory. We are happy to win our group, but also know that we have a long, hard road ahead of us.

We have Spain in our first knockout round. The media seems as though they’re overlooking Spain to be an easy game of us, but we all know we can’t take anybody lightly. I start the game from the bench and try to be the best cheerleader for my team. Once again we strike early when Pinoe scores on a PK in the 7th minute. Unfortunately some defensive mistakes on our part lead to Spain scoring in the 9th minute. Finally, Pinoe scores on another PK in the 75th minute to put us ahead. I’m subbed in late in the game to help confirm the win. After we win we all take a big deep breath, but not too big because we all realize who our next opponent is. France.

The game against France will easily go down as the craziest game I have ever played in. It was definitely in their favor, but the crowd was full of so many American fans that the cheers were deafening. I start this game from the bench too, but am quickly celebrating with my teammates as Pinoe manages to sneak a ball past the whole defense and the keeper. Later in the game Tobin, Sam and Pinoe have a run going as Tobin crosses the ball. It makes it’s way through the box and Pinoe smashes it into the back of the net. The stadium goes crazy as we take a 2-0 lead. I’m finally subbed into the game in the 63rd minute. France manages to get a free kick outside of our box. We all try our best to stop it but the tall French player gets the best of us and heads the ball into the goal. 2-1. For the next 10 minutes we play keep away in order to ensure they don’t even the score. Finally the final whistle blows. I drop to my knees immediately in tears because of how emotionally exhausting this game and whole tournament has been.

The next morning I’m woken up to a knock at my door. When I open it Sonnett is standing there holding a coffee for me.

“Wanna take a walk to decompress?” She offers to me.

“Sure, just let me get changed.”

Emily and I head out of our hotel and start walking up and down streets. We’re stopped a few times by fans for pictures but other than that it is relatively peaceful. We finally take a seat on a bench in a park.

“So, how have you been dealing with the emotions of everything?” Sonnett asks me.

“Well, it all has really felt like a whirlwind. I can’t believe the position we’re in and I can’t believe that I’ve actually had an impact in some of our games. That France game was a lot. So much was against us and we practically had to win to quiet everyone.”

“Yeah, the pressure definitely has been a lot. But I want you to know how proud I am of you for how you’ve responded and dealt with it all.”

“It really helps knowing that I have you here with me.”

“Yeah, even though I’m barely here.” Sonnett remarks.

“Em, what do you mean?”

“I don’t know. I’ve just been having a hard time with my role on this team. It’s hard to only get 8 minutes in one game and not really get any other chances.”

“I know it’s hard, Em. But this tournament is meant to be a learning experience for you! Just imagine 4 years from now when you’re needed as more of a role player. You’ll be able to take everything you learned here to help you and the team.”

“You’re right Linds. Thanks for making me feel better about everything.”

Emily and I sit there for 20 more minutes just enjoying the peace and the outdoors. We finally arrive back to our hotel to travel to the next city we’ll be playing in.

*Emily’s POV*

The morning of the England game finally arrives and I’m full of nerves. We’re so close, but still so far from reaching the title game. Lindsey starts this game and I’m super proud of her for being such a vital asset to the team this tournament. Once again we start off with an early score as Christen has a beautiful header in the 10th minute. It wasn’t long before England tied the game up 1-1. In the 30th minute Lindsey gets the ball right outside of the box and I see Alex gliding in. Lindsey flicks the ball up to Alex and she heads it right into the back of the next. The second half of the game felt like the longest half of my life. Near the end of the game England gets a chance to tie the game with a PK. We’re all up standing on our feet cheering on Alyssa. When she blocks it we all go absolutely insane. I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited by anything in my life. As the whistle blows I run onto the field and hug my teammates. We’re going to the World Cup. And that’s the tea.

The day of the final finally arrives. Before we leave for the game I go and have a moment by myself. I pray to God and thank him for the position he has put me in. I also just think about how I’m feeling on this day and how the next time I return to my room I may be a World Cup champion. Lindsey and I sit next to each other on the bench to keep each other calm. The first half is unusually uneventful and we go into the locker room tied 0-0. Jill harps on the fact that we have had chances, they just haven’t gone in, but to keep our heads high because it will open up for us eventually. Finally in the 61st minute we strike first off of another PK by Pinoe and the feeling like we’re going to win is starting to grown. Then a few minutes later Rose gets the ball in open space and fires a shot with her left foot. The whole stadium exploded when we all realized that it went into the back of the net.

When we final whistle sounded we all stormed onto the field. I immediately ran over to Rose and wrapped her in a huge hug. It felt like at that point I was hugging every person I could get my hands on. Finally I realized the one person I forgot to celebrate with. Lindsey and I make eye contact. I sprint over and jump into her arms as she catches me. I look at her in the eyes and plant a huge kiss on her. We both fall to the ground, maintaining the contact that our lips have.

After the trophy ceremony we head to the locker room and all hell breaks lose. Champagne is shot, beer is chugged and sill string is sprayed. I’ve never had such a moment of pure relief and craziness but this moment will go down as one of the best in my entire life.

After our locker room celebrations we go back to the hotel to shower and change before our celebrations with our family continues. When we get to the bar I immediately find my parents and sister. We all embrace each other in huge hugs and they tell me repeatedly how proud of me they are.

“Hey nice smooch you and Lindsey had.” Emma whispers in my ear winking.

I really didn’t think anyone would notice our embrace with all of the other things going on.

My teammates and I party hard for the rest of the night. We all end up on the bar top shooting champagne and singing and dancing together. Lindsey and I sneak into a room together to be able to sleep together after such an exhausting day and month.

The next morning I wake up to Lindsey shaking me.

“Em, the whole world is talking about our kiss.”


	24. Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Lindsey come back to America after the World Cup.

*Emily’s POV*

After we arrive home and all of our big celebrations are over we get a few days to go home and celebrate with our families. Family has started to reach out to Lindsey and I about our kiss so we decide that now would be the best time to face it. We choose to start with my family in Georgia.

As we are sitting in the airport waiting to get onto our flight I check my phone and see a very surprising notification.

“Lindsey! Look! Waffle House dm’ed me!” I say showing her my phone.

“Wow, Son! That’s awesome. I still haven’t had it yet though.”

“Okay that’s changing as soon as we land in Georgia.”

Lindsey and I spend our whole flight catching up on sleep and starting to sober ourselves up again. When we land we are greeted by Emma and my parents.

“There’s my world champ.” My dad says as he pulls me into a huge hug.

“And hello to you Lindsey.” My mom says hugging her.

“We have a lot to talk about with you ladies, but we’ll save that for later tonight at the house.” My mom remarks as we start to exit the airport.

The whole car ride home Emma and my parents ask us questions about how the parade and ESPY’s were. 

For a second I sit back and think about how perfect this moment is. I’m in my home state of Georgia with my loving parents, my twin who’s my best friend, and my beautiful girlfriend. I’m also a World Cup champ.

When we get to my childhood home I give Lindsey a tour of the house. My dad heads outside to start grilling chicken for our dinner tonight. Emma helps Lindsey and I carry our bags upstairs to my room.

“Is this really you Em?” Lindsey asks pointing at a baby picture hanging in our hallway.

“It is indeed. Can you imagine that cute little baby only got cuter with age?” I say with a cheeky smile on my face.

When we get to my room I watch as Lindsey inspects it.

“Well, what do you think?” I ask her.

“I can definitely see a little Sonnett designing this room. I like it.” She says laughing.

“So, what’s your guys plan?” Emma asks as she joins us in my room.

“With what?” I ask her.

“You know, telling mom and dad and the whole world about you two?”

“Well, I assume we’re gonna talk about it with mom and dad tonight. They seem fine, I’m not worried. We haven’t figured out what we’re gonna do with the rest of the world yet, we might not even acknowledge it.” I tell her.

“Yeah, we kinda just feel like this relationship is for us and no one else. That’s how it should stay.” Lindsey adds.

“I like that. Just know you guys have my support 100% with whatever you choose to do.”

After we get settled in we head downstairs to eat dinner. Mom and dad have made a great looking meal of grilled chicken, mixed veggies and my mom’s famous Mac & cheese. We make small dinner talk as we all enjoy our food.

“Well, I guess we should address the elephant in the room.” I say as I notice we are all mostly done with our food.

“I hope you know you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” My mom reminds us.

“No mom, we want to.” I say grabbing Lindsey’s hand. “So, Lindsey and I have been dating since last mid-October. She helped take care of me when I had my bad concussion and things really started picking up between us during that time. She makes me the happiest girl in the world, guys. And I’m sorry for not telling you guys sooner that I like girls. I guess I didn’t fully accept it without Lindsey’s help.”

“Emily Ann. You’ve been my little girl for almost 26 years. From the day that your mom and I found out you and Emma were on the way I loved you so immensely much. Nothing would ever be able to change that. I’m so proud of you for accepting who you are. And Lindsey, thank you for all you’ve done for my daughter.”

Lindsey and I both get up and hug my dad. He’s such a great guy.

“My turn to get sappy. Emily, you never fail to surprise us, and each time it always amazing. Whether it’s with all of your soccer accomplishments or now bringing home a beautiful girl, I couldn’t be more proud. Lindsey, thank you for putting that smile on my little girls face.”

We then go and wrap my mom in a huge hug. I look at Emma to see if she has anything else to add.

“Oh I’ve gotten plenty emotional about these two in the past so I’m not gonna start now. But, you both know I love you so much and am always here.”

After we get done with our dinner conversation we all go to the living room and relax. I notice Lindsey lean on me and yawn.

“Well, I think Lindsey and I are gonna go get some sleep. We have a big waffle filled day tomorrow!”

Lindsey and I lay down in my bed and cuddle together.

“I love your family.” Lindsey whispers into my ear.

“And they love you too.” I whisper back with a smile on my face.

We wake up early the next morning and head to Waffle House. When we get there the manage greets us and we exchange one of my jerseys for a Waffle House shirt. It’s now my prized possession.

When we take our seat I essentially order for Lindsey. I get the both of us the All-Star Breakfast, of course. When our food comes I watch as Lindsey take her first bite.

“Well, how is it?” I ask anxiously.

“I see the hype now.” Lindsey says.

We finish our breakfasts and head out to explore Marietta. Unfortunately this is only a short trip back home so we have to head to Lindsey’s house the next day. We say goodbye to my family and thank them for everything they did for us. I’m so happy with how these days went.

*Lindsey’s POV*

The past few days with Sonnett’s family were amazing. I anxiously board the plane back to Colorado and Emily can tell I’m a little off.

“You okay Linds?” She asks me as we sit down in our seats.

“Yeah, just a little nervous about how things are going to go.”

“It’ll be okay. You’ve got me right here through it all.” She reminds me.

We finally arrive back in Colorado and my brother Mike is waiting for us at the airport to pick us up.

“So you must be the reason my sister has been so happy lately.” He says as he wraps Emily into a hug.

It makes me relieved to know that I at least have my brother’s support through this.

After our long drive we finally arrive at my childhood home. I get out of the car and just look at the house, nervous about the scene that’s about to unfold in front of me.

“Same team.” Emily says as she comes up next to me and grabs my hand.

We enter the house and my mom bombards me with a hug. Next, my dad joins us in the doorway to welcome us. They both only give Emily a hand shake, which concerns me.

We all go into the living room and sit down. My family starts asking all about the whirlwind that has been the past few days. Finally, I bring the kiss up.

“So, I know you all probably saw the kiss. And I know I haven’t expressed a liking of girls before and I’m sorry for not telling you all sooner, but I wasn’t ever really sure myself. That’s why I love Emily so much. She brings the real me out and she reminds me that it’s okay whoever that is.”

My mom and dad both give each other a look.

“You know we love you Lindsey.” Says my mom.

“Whatever makes you happy Linds” is all my dad blurts out.

That’s it? That’s all they have to say? I’m slightly disappointed, but relieved that they don’t seem angry about it.

Emily and I are both relatively quiet the rest of the night. After we eat dinner we decide to turn into bed early. 

“They don’t accept me.” I say as I lay down in bed, tears filling up my eyes.

“Yes they do Linds. It’s just gonna take a little bit of time. You’re their little girl, they love you no matter what.”

“But Emily compare it to how your parents reacted.”

“My parents saw this coming ever since I was little. I was always the biggest tomboy and I never had a serious relationship with a boy. They’ve just had more time to let it sink in.” She reminds me.

“I’m gonna go grab some water from downstairs.” I say.

When I enter the kitchen my dad is standing at the sink doing the dishes.

“Hey kiddo.” He says to me.

“Hey” is all I say back.

“You okay?”

“Not really. I was a little let down by how you and mom responded to Emily and I.”

“Linds, call Emily down here. We have to talk.”

I go get Emily and bring her back for my dad to talk to us.

“I’m sorry for not coming off more supportive earlier, but I have to be more sure of this relationship before I support it any more. Emily, what are your intentions with my daughter.”

I see her eyes go wide before she collects herself.

“Well, sir, that’s a very loaded question. I could sit here and tell you all of these things I’m going to do and that I’m never going to do anything to hurt her. But, I’m human. I know I’m going to make mistakes, some of which may hurt Lindsey. But I promise you that I will spend my whole life righting every wrong, fighting for every solution and loving her unconditionally. When you look at Lindsey you see the most beautiful girl in the world, right? I see the same thing. And I never want a single thing to cross her heart and I never want to see her frown. Being with your daughter puts me on top of the world and I intend to spend the rest of forever making her feel as though she’s on top of the world, the most beautiful girl in the world and so loved that she forgets the meaning of the word hate. I intend to be human, but I intend to be one of the best humans for Lindsey.”

My mouth is open at the speech Emily just gave. I look at my dad and see him take in all that was just said.

“That was a very good answer Emily. As long as you keep those intentions I will be very supportive of you and Lindsey.” He says as he hugs both me and Emily.

After this episode in the kitchen Emily and I head back up to my room.

“Emily. That was amazing.” I say staring at my girlfriend who always says the right thing.

“What’d I tell you? Same team.” She says leaning in to kiss me.


	25. Same Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Lindsey talk publicly.

*Lindsey’s POV*

We finally get back to Portland and it feels so good to be home. I feel like I haven’t been here in so long. When I get to my apartment I have so much mail waiting for me I don’t even know where to begin.

I really haven’t been on my phone much since winning. Between all of the congratulations, teammate celebration posts, and the countless media posts of my kiss with Emily I haven’t been able to keep up.

Emily and I decide to go to our favorite Portland restaurant to welcome ourselves back home. She picks me up and we head to dinner. I notice she seems oddly quiet, but just figure it’s due to being back home. 

We enjoy our food and are recognized by almost everyone in the restaurant. This new fame is something that is definitely going to take a lot of time to get used to.

“Son, what’s on your mind?” I ask out of curiosity.

“I’ve just been having a hard time dealing with everyone always talking about our kiss. Sometimes I wish that moment didn’t happen so publicly.”

“I know, Em. Even though that moment was seen by a lot of people, at the end of the day it was still just for you and I. And I really like thinking of that moment with you.”

“Ya know, Linds, I was thinking. What if we were a little more public?”

“What are you talking about Sonny?”

“Well everyone is talking about it anyway. What if we just did one single interview to talk about what the whole story is and be done with it?”

“I do feel like there’s just a lot of lies and speculations out there so maybe being able to speak our truth would be good. But where would we do it?”

“How about Katie Nolan’s podcast? I think she’d do a great job getting our story out.”

“Why not? Let’s do this thing.”

I can’t believe we both just agreed to that. We haven’t even been officially dating for a year and now we’re about to go tell the whole world about it.

Emily contacts Katie and she agrees to letting us telling our story on her podcast. The days leading up to it Sonnett and I are always checking up with each other to make sure we are both still comfortable doing this.

The day of our podcast appearance arrives and Emily and I are both nervous. Though we both agree that it is better for us to say the truth than to let everyone else speculate about our business.

“Hey guys and welcome to Sports? with Katie Nolan. Today we have two very special guests, World Cup champions Lindsey Horan and Emily Sonnett! How are you guys doing today?” Katie introduces the show.

“Oh we’re really good. Honestly still just recovering from the month we’ve had.” I answer.

“Yeah jeez you guys have had your bodies put through the ringer. I’m not sure what looked more brutal; all the slide tackling or the hangovers you must still have.”

“I’d easily have to say the hangovers. Ya know after a slide tackle you can ice and recover your muscles, you can’t really ice a hangover.” Emily says jokingly.

“I really do think all of you ladies put every frat house in America to shame with your celebrations. Like how many, 2 airplane rides, countless hotels, a parade, a major award show and you guys never let up.”

“We all joked that we actually turned into frat boys at one point. Lots of rallying had to be done. I mean you all saw Kelley jump off the float to go grab beer for her and Sonnett from fans. I never experienced any college parties, but those few days I think made up for that I missed out on.”

“Do you guys have any favorite moments from the celebrations?”

“Oh I definitely do.” Starts Emily. “It was our second night back in America, the day that we were on Good Morning America and the night before the parade. People were starting to hit a partying wall but there were some of us who were determined to keep going. We all were out on the yacht and we were trying to determine where to go out and who all wanted to go. I glanced over at Lindsey and she just had a look of pure horror on her face. When I asked her what was wrong she just said she’s never seen a group of people rally so many times and I told her welcome to college. Then we texted Sam Mewis that we had plans to go out and she hadn’t made it to the yacht that night cause she had a little too much fun poolside that afternoon and she responded with a gif of Deena from Jersey Shore saying ‘I guess I’ll just freaking rally’ and I’ve never received a better text before. I live for chaos like that, I was just genuinely having so much fun.”

“Wow. That is truly amazing. I know exactly what gif you’re talking about too. So before we talk more about celebrations, including a certain celebration, I wanna talk a little about your relationship, if I can call if that?” Katie asks.

“Haha sure. We are dating so you can call it that.” I confirm.

“So what was the first moment for both of you that you knew the other was the one?”

“This is gonna sound funny, but when she let me have the bed by the door in our very first team bonding back in 2016. I have this weird thing about not liking to sleep near windows and she let me have the bed by the door. I didn’t know it then, but she was already being protective of me.”

“That’s adorable.” Katie says.

*Emily’s POV*

“For me it was the first night where Lindsey and I really opened up to each other. We told each other our stories from the very beginning and Lindsey told me about how rough her start with PSG was. Hearing her tell that story made me never want to see her upset again.”

“And it took you guys this long to date? What the hell happened?”

“Well, things have a way of working themselves out when they’re supposed to.” Lindsey answers laughing. 

“So I have to ask about the epic kiss that all of us got to see. Did you have that planned?”

“No actually. We never had any of this planned. It was one of those moments where I forgot where I was and next thing I knew I was in Lindsey’s arms kissing her.”

“Even though that moment ended up being a little more public than we had originally planned I still look back and all I remember is her and I being there. We had thousands of eyes on us, but in that moment all I really saw was her.” Lindsey adds.

“Did that kiss inspire why you guys are here talking today?”

“I think it definitely has something to do with it.” Lindsey says.

“So why are you guys deciding to go public now?”

“Well, I think we realized all of the good it could do. Thousands of people just watched us kiss and now we’re just gonna stay quiet about it? We didn’t really want to be those people who everyone constantly speculates about. We just wanted to do this interview to get it out there and say like ‘yes we are Lindsey and Emily,’ end of story.” I answer.

“Plus, if young girls and boys seeing us kiss helps them realize that it’s okay for them to love whoever they’re gonna love, then we definitely wanted to be those people for them.” Lindsey adds.

“Wow those are both really commendable reasons. Have you gotten the reactions you were hoping for?”

“I think so. Emily and I compare dm’s sometimes and show each other different messages we’ve gotten from people saying that we helped them accept themselves or some people even come out to us and we’re the first people we tell.”

“I think Lindsey and I both are striving to be the people we needed to see when we were young girls.”

“That’s so awesome. So many people in the bright lights don’t always use their fame for good, so I respect both of you ladies for your philanthropy. I have to ask, I notice that you guys both wear identical rings on your right ring finger, care to share the significance?”

“Sure. So for my birthday Sonnett first surprised me with this ring. It’s a promise ring and we both have promises made to each other that we’re going to fulfill and the rings serve as a reminder of them. I then got Emily hers before we left for the World Cup so we both could have the special object with us.”

“And on the inside of both of our rings we have the motto ‘Same Team’ engraved in them. This saying holds a lot of significance to Lindsey and I. We say it to each other before every game and in any tough moment we’re going through, whether it’s relationship related or personal. Basically, it means that no matter what happens we’re on the same team for each other. A lot of the time in relationships when there is a disagreement both sides of the relationship forget that they aren’t opposing players, because they’re on the same team trying to accomplish the best goal for the team as a whole. And this motto has helped Lindsey and I realize that we make pretty good teammates.”

“I think every listener of this episode can take something huge from you guys. Before we wrap up, is there any future plans you want to talk about?” Asks Katie.

“Oh man, I don’t think so. Hopefully the Olympics next summer. But truth is, I’d follow that crazy girl wherever. Same team, Em?” Lindsey glances over to me.

“Same team.” I respond back smiling.


End file.
